Greener on the other side
by Hint.Of.Grey
Summary: Things just got complicated for the newly regrouped team as a rift between two realities is opened. Tony swore he saw Superman. Bruce is hearing voices. And the speedy SHEILD AC repair girl has everything to do with it. Bruce/oc
1. Chapter 1

**Just when things couldn't get anymore extraterrestrial, a rip in time merges two universes together and The Avengers face villains who are just as confused as they are- and just as powerful. So what does the zippy SHEILD Air maintenance worker have to do with this?**

* * *

"I _DON'T _want her!"

Everything inside the mansion seemed to quiet at the sudden outburst of Barry, who now was huffing in frustration staring up at a thin lipped Bruce who was equally strained. The billionaire squinted at his acquaintance-if he had to call him that- and was about to continue on his own banter when a throat was cleared beside them. Both heads snapped to the archway to see Alfred straight faced holding the hand of the subject of their argument.

A small child of five numbly kicked at the polished floor with a red shoe as she mindlessly swung her hand in the butler's own, brunette hair held high in a ponytail with matching eyes watching her feet. Her attire was just as dull, a worn out, dirtied yellow sundress hung limply on her slim shoulders that seemed to quiver just the slightest.

"Miss Ellie has made a request, Master Bruce" Alfred again broke the silence, wary eyes straying to the slimmer gentleman who refused to look him in the eye before politely meeting Bruce's hard eyes.

"Go on, Alfred" he gestured to him, running a hand through his gelled hair, face softening just a tad when he saw his butler squeezing the girl's hand in encouragement before she slowly released her hold on his hand and stepped forward, ringing her rough fingers together.

Huffing to herself, Ellie finally met Bruce's eyes with a tired determination, "Mr. Wayne, I-" she glanced at Barry, her lips quivering when he refused to look at her, "-I would like to stay". When said man stared at her with an expression she couldn't identify, she began to panic, "Alfred- I mean Mr. Alfred has been kind, he said I don't bother him and-and I will be good, Mummy always-"

At that Bruce's hand shot up and Ellie's jaw snapped shut with an audible crack, brown eyes welling up with tears as her chest tightened with realization of the inevitable, of course a complete stranger wouldn't want her, not even her own Dad wanted anything to do with her…

"Leave" Bruce suddenly barked out and Ellie jumped, tears spilling over as she looked at Alfred for guidance when she heard Bruce get up from his leather couch, swiveling around expecting pain she was surprised to see the billionaire's back to her, his suit perfect despite the two hour dispute with her Dad, and facing the accused man. Arms crossed and a cool set upon his features he stared down at the still sitting speedster. Quirking a thick, dark eyebrow, he stepped forward only to stop when, with a blur, Barry was standing and walking himself out without a second glance.

"And Barry?" Bruce continued cracking his neck with his hands stuffed into his slacks, "I never want to see you around here, never want to hear a whisper of your name, either of your names, and when I see you at the station, expect everyone to have wind of this".

"Got it, Bats'" and with a step he flashed out, banging the wooden door behind him. Turning his attention to the expectant child staring up at him, Bruce crouched down and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"That goes for you too, Little Lady" he stated reaching out a big hand to take her chin in his hand and turning it left to right, "not a peep of that sorry excuse for a human being, and Alfred?" he looked up at his butler to see him silently beaming at the youth, "get her cleaned up and into an adequate room to be hers for her stay here, away from busy areas if you will". Chucking the girl's chin he stood, grinning when Ellie jumped with the first smile he ever glimpsed on her small face as she ran to Alfred, grasping his pant leg and jumping in spot while whispering pleas to have a big, yellow room, and before they could exit the doorway Bruce once again grabbed her attention.

"Yes, Mr. Wayne?" Ellie asked, flashing him white teeth.

Scratching the back of his head sheepishly, he asked in a low voice, "Your Mother talk about me?"

Ellie bit her lip, eyes saddening before flashing back to eager happiness, "She told great stories about you, Mr. Wayne, though most were about her stealing a new valuable of yours".

Chuckling at the memories he nodded, "And Ellie? Call me Bruce, alright?" With a vigorous nod she was led out by Alfred, swinging his hand in hers in anticipation. Turning towards the door, Bruce shook himself and started making plans to test out his new energy supplement as well as how the hell he was going to raise a child, a girl at that…

* * *

"Miss Pennyworth?"

Looking up from her sketch, Ellie grumbled when she sized up the uniformed man in front of her, Logan standing behind him with an ever growing scowl and Petre glancing up from his book from the table across from hers.

"Yeah?" she asked ringing her hands numbly, waiting.

"I'm Director Fury, from S.H.E.I.L.D., I would like to propose an opening position for you, concerning your… ongoing predicament"

* * *

**Should be doing something esle-but shouldn't we all? Any questions.. question away (?). **


	2. Familiar faces

**Chapter 2. Familiar faces.**

"Of course it's your damn room that's messing with my work!"

Startled Clint looked up from prodding at his newly issued set of arrows Fury presented him with and swiveled his head back and forth before looking up at his air vent- _should've known_, he sighed rolling his eyes. Dark brown eyes peered down at him through the shutters of the vent-where he effectively nestled his bed ("nest" they all say) at to get all the cool air he could get. So maybe he sticks his covers over the vents to cool them down to take a power nap between shifts- who doesn't?

"Move along, Bree" Clint stated going back to his scrutinizing, flicking the tip of an arrowhead, twitching when it opened up to reveal a small vile of liquid.

"It's Ellie to you, _Ellie_" the brown eyes narrowed at him before she banged her screw driver against the vent, "and push your bundle of coverlets _away_ from my workspace, alrighty? I smell you all the way down the engine room- _nasty_, do you shower? Or just fluff your feathers?"

"Goodbye, Bree" Clint pushed on, squinting at the vile as he brought it up to his face before shaking it around, "and maybe it's those damn rats you're smelling, just dump them, _please_"

"The only rats onboard are you and those giant splinters" Ellie grumbled backing up along the air ducts, briefly checking the chemical reactors stationed at every edge before moving down the rounding right corner, back to the engine room to check on her fellow crewmembers before heading off to her own personal duties. Just as she rounded another corner there was an audible click above her before cold air blasted down and in front of her, making her highlighted fire truck red hair curl around her face in a chokehold.

"Why? _Why?_** Why?**" she groaned sputtering out strands, shaking her head and continuing on her way, briefly glancing through vents at the empty quarters that they led to. They were to be occupied soon due to the new tear in the sky, seemingly a permanent one this time, having stayed for longer than two days. It was making her anxious, after years –_years_- in this strange place she would be going home.

Finding the bright yellow of her personal vent leading to her station right next to the left engine, Ellie easily slipped through the swinging panel, huffing when her back landed on her large beanie bag before making her way over to the stairs leading to the navigating room.

"Find anything yet?" she called over to the slouched leathered figure at the head of the assembly table who seemed to be having a pleasant conversation with the person on the other line- the screaming being the first clue.

Nick Fury glanced up at the red and yellow haired repair girl- narrowing his eyes at her lack of uniform being leveling the screaming device in front of him, pressing the speaker button, watching her facial expression.

"-_know what I saw, who else wears those repulsive colors except our spangly monkey boy? And last I checked he __**couldn't fly!**_ _Hear me? Freaking spandex man flew by and-"_

At that Fury ended the call, stuffing it in his pocket just as it started to buzz again. Raising an eyebrow at the female in front of him, he waited.

"Director?" Ellie asked, heart pounding in her chest in anticipation- he wouldn't have let her hear that and not let her assume the worst-or best- without a reason that involved herself. Her red and yellow sneakers shifted restlessly, waiting for a reply.

"Why didn't he try to go back, Miss Pennyworth?" Fury asked her leaning back in her chair, crossing his arms. At her blank, anxious expression, he continued, "if we're talking about the same person, he must have known his ride back home is stationed right above us, now why would he be all the way over in New York?"

She didn't want to jump too far ahead of herself, but the first thing that almost poured out of her mouth was that Bruce had found a way to stabilize the prototype enough to send someone out here to look for her, to bring her back. Just what if it was another accident like the ones appearing off and on in this place? It happened in S.H.E.I.L.D's history not too long ago, but that was purposefully opened, these were sporadic . Had someone else made the same mistake as her? Wasn't even looking for her?

So then why haven't they tried going back-

"You can't take me back through, can you?" Ellie sighed dejectedly, ringing her hands once more in frustration.

"We need communication through the other side- the _right _side" rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "we already sent Thor to inspect it, but he verified it just leads to one of the distant realms leading to his home. I believe if we can communicate and keep that connection going through to the place we want it to go, a rift will open up to the place you two came from"

"Sir?" she pressed on, clenching her fingers together.

"Why don't you give a little warm welcoming to our lost friend, think he'd recognize you?"

Briefly touching her wild hair, Ellie's lips twitched and she nodded her head vigorously, "oh, yes, Director, I'm sure he will"

"Then let's give you a ride for pickup"

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

"What's taking them so long? It isn't like I didn't see a living reenactment of The Flying Superman right outside my company window! What'd they do, stop to buy him greeting cards?"

"I still don't understand why you didn't go after him, it isn't you not to" Bruce Banner murmured taking a sip of his tea as he continued watching the famous Iron Man throw darts at the wall as he continued his monologue.

"Not happening with a hangover, Brucie" Tony stated swinging his arm back before releasing the last dart, pursing his lips when it smashed into the bulls-eye but didn't stick, "besides, why can't the man fly around? I do it all the time"

"All of the world knows who you are" Bruce pointed out leaning back against the counter of the small bar.

"Oh, I think all of the world _knows_ who he is" he mumbled glancing at his phone, "and who has the decency to hang up on me? And why aren't the men in black here yet? Whenever I blow up something it's like they appear around the corner right after it happens, but seeing a man in a cape flying around leisurely, they decide to make pit stops!"

"Maybe they already have him?" Bruce offered off handedly.

"As if they're that good" scoffed the billionaire waving a hand across a sensor to receive a fresh new board through a rotating wall and was bending over to grab new darts before a new voice joined in.

"Sir, it appears that you have company" JARVIS informed as both men looked up, "and-"

"Jarvis?" Tony called out, his eyebrows raising at the sudden silence before swinging around at a door being thrown open with a skidding woman stumbling through it. "Security breach" he duly informed the obvious while Bruce adjusted his glasses to view the new presence.

"Finally, the right room" Ellie announced regaining her composure after running through the whole tower just to find one man, geez, who had that many lounge rooms anyway? It felt like every other room she barged in on had a minibar and a ginormous flat screen.

"How'd you get in?" who she hoped was the infamous Tony Stark asked sizing her up. She only briefly looked over the Avengers Initiative briefly when she first arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, but since she didn't want to get too attached, information flew over her head, only facial recognition from photos helped her search as of now.

"Uh, this" she held up a transparent card that had the Stark logo on it, printed neatly in bold letters was the culprit's name, "courtesy of yourself, I'm told, in case of emergencies, yes?"

"I thought emergencies arrived here faster, response teams are supposed to _respond_, not _delay_" Tony snarked with a twitch of his lips, "you're late".

"Fashionably" Ellie added, throwing the card at him before rocking back on her heels, "so, where's the guest?"

"They only sent you?" Bruce spoke up, surprised, though he knew he shouldn't be, appearances are usually deceiving, but, wouldn't S.H.I.E.L.D. send a more trademark agent in, or a small team in. Considering who Tony claimed to see, after all.

"Yeah" she frowned a bit, squinting at the doctor, trying to remember if she read his file, "hey, what's your favorite color?".

Caught off guard, Bruce sputtered out, "y-yellow"

"Hu" Ellie uttered still trying to place him, "mine's green". With a sudden snap of her fingers, she realized she answered her own inquiries, "oh, I got yeah"

"What're you supposed to do? Flag him down with your hazardous hair?" Tony pushed, mentally going through all the files he recently looked at through S.H.I.E.L.D's database.

"Something like that" she shrugged, catching on they didn't have him, "how long ago did he fly by?"

"An hour" Bruce supplied seeing as Tony was pondering on something.

"Mind if I bunk until morning? Jet legged from the sudden transport and I don't think I'll be in the right mind flagging that man down like this" she gestured to her jean skirt that had black leggings down to her calves, a red and yellow hoodie complimenting her hair and shoes.

"Oh, ho, ho" Tony mimicked Ellie by snapping his own fingers, a grin spreading across his features, "I got _you_, little miss Flash jr" ignoring the twitch of her facial features at the name he continued on, "this is gonna be mind blowing, my good doctor, so yes, I would gladly invite you to stay as long as we get to have a nice, long, story telling time"

Bruce looked at Ellie while she seemed to do the same, both shrugged and faced the giggling Iron Man.

* * *

**Should be doing something else, _really_, but will never happen. Read, Review, Happy Biddings.**


	3. Simple scenerios of Tony Stark

**Chapter 3. Simple scenerios of Tony Stark.**

"You should build a hologram for Mr. Jarvis" Ellie quipped as she saw Tony stumble in with the butt of his hand pressed against his forehead, "and stop drinking past eleven".

"How old are you?" Tony shot back sitting on the stool across from her and beckoning to her coffee cup. When her brown eyes just stared at him in unnerving boredom he snatched it for himself only to spit it out when he tasted bitter tea, "why would you ruin a _coffee_ cup by placing _tea_ in it?" he sputtered.

"I think it gives it character" Ellie chirped taking a grab for the offended cup only for it to be snatched away. Retreating a bit, Tony quickly took the bait and placed the cup back down, smirking. Mirroring his muscle movements, she sweetly murmured, "Thank you for the tea, Mr. Stark".

Scrunching his eyebrows together he looked down at his empty hand, his fingers twitching out of the imaginary hold they now formed. Groaning, he seemed to remember his pounding headache and pressed fingers to his eyes, "too early for this".

Taking the final sips out of the cup she washed it in the sink before leaning a hip against the sink, "are we ready for an opening for our guest?" She barely got any sleep after giving Bruce and Tony the condensed version of her presence and background- everything S.H.I.E.L.D put in storage and not much more.

"You homeboys with him?" Tony asked leaning back, effectively cracking his back and cracking an eye open when he heard another set of feet enter the room.

Ellie gave Bruce a small greeting, eyeing him curiously, while he poured himself the remaining green tea in a new mug, and after receiving a similar, albeit sleepier, reply she turned back to answer the question, "I babysat his little boy after-" frowning a bit, she backtracked, "I babysat his kid"

"Where's baby-momma?" Tony pushed hearing her falter but after some silence he continued as if he didn't ask anything, "Brucie, you up to tag teaming against Super Spandex Man? What'd yeah say? Tech and hulk against superhuman?"

"If he came out of the comic books I've read, no" Bruce smiled a bit, his eyes crinkling kindly as he shared an amused look at Ellie, "are they?"

She grinned as she thought of the first time she spotted those comics of her family and friends, one could say she hoarded them, and they were all neatly organized in her room, "oh, yes, Dr. Banner, and much more".

"You're _ruining_ more than my coffee cup now" Tony warned, and turning to the good doctor he shook his finger at him, "and I'm sure our friendly Green Giant wouldn't have a second thought about joining me, true friendship there"

"Don't put too much faith in him, Tony" Bruce frowned at the mention of the Other Guy.

"Don't you?" Ellie butted in, tilting her head, "I mean, isn't he apart of you? Shouldn't you put faith in him in turn to have faith in yourself?" frowning to herself she wrung her fingers in thought, "that didn't sound right- you have to have trust in him to trust yourself, there".

"Even the new girl understands!" Tony piped up, turning to the twin colored hair girl, "don't let him full yeah, green and bulky grows on yeah real fast".

Frowning at the pair, Bruce adjusted his glasses, remembering the strange dream he had last night that involved the Other Guy… come to think of it, he remembered Ellie being there too.

Odd.

"Are we going?" Ellie changed the subject, feeling a bit guilty for raining on Bruce's good mood, "the sooner the less I'll be yelled at by the Director"

"To the Batmobile!" Tony shouted, grabbing a stray apple and strided to the elevator, looking behind when he didn't here faithful followers, "What? I said it right, didn't I?"

Ellie gave him a blank look and Bruce gently placed his cup in the sink, sparing him a look.

"Okay, sore subject, I got it" he shrugged, "but you got the gist of it, now follow your leader!"

Shaking her head she followed Bruce's lead as he entered the elevator, looking around warily at the piece of contraption, not one for this, opting for stairs over it any day. As it started going up she grasped Bruce's large hand in her own and swung it, letting the motions sooth her though not daring to meeting a surprised gaze in fear of reddening in embarrassment.

Bruce almost jolted out of his skin at the contact, about to hastily pull it back when he saw her stiff stance and pale face. Taking a breath he calmed his heart down as well as soothed the presence at the back of his mind who surprisingly was more curious than defensive.

"Here we are" Tony announced stepping out and through the newly rebuilt lounge room, directly out to the docking bridge for his suit, "where all the action takes place".

Walking up to the ledge, Ellie cautiously looked down, knowing she wouldn't be able to land on her own two feet without hurting something. Looking around, she was satisfied she could see over buildings- looking up she realized it wouldn't be too hard to overlook this particular one even if it wasn't the tallest.

A slight push at her shoulder made her shout out in panic before muscle memory kicked in and she flew herself backwards, only seen as a red and yellow blur before she stood stationary at the opened glass door not a half-second later. Looking up she spared a grinning Tony Stark a brief glare before walking forward, though she stood closer to Bruce this time who himself was giving Tony a warning look, his hand rubbing at his chest over his heart. A strange beeping sound caught her attention, though by the time she recognized it, it had slowed down until silence replaced it.

Patting his shoulder in reassurance Ellie looked around before turning to both men, "no funny business, and we wait until we see the Director to explain extensively about-" she flapped her hand helplessly in the air, "-_this_"

"Don't mind us" Tony remarked sliding two sun chairs a bit behind her, gesturing to Bruce to take a seat, "we're just going to enjoy the view".

Rolling her eyes she took a breath, suddenly a bit nervous. Looking back towards Bruce and Tony, she received an encouraging smile and thumbs up. Looking over the buildings she shook out her hands, jumping in spot to shake out the nerves before opening her mouth, "Clark?"

It came out in a whisper, a small calling that if the man was paying attention, he would here clear as day. Seeing nothing coming towards the tower or hear flapping fabric she tried a bit louder, "Clark? Kent?"

"How 'bout dancing? Do that strange cheerleading thing- you know, jump, shout, flip, that oughta catch his attention" Tony offered, lounging back and producing sunglasses from a compartment on the ground and perching them on his nose.

"He'd probably think I'm throwing a show for the both of you"

Bruce choked on her air supply for a moment, blood rushing to his face and the Other Guy quizzically brushing against his boundaries, looking for a way to the surface. Forcing the feeling away he covered his face for a moment before glancing at Tony who was waggling his eyebrows at him. Shaking his head he looked back to Ellie who was still calling out to thin air.

After a while Tony suddenly sat up, muttering about 'time ticking at his pounding head' and opened something near the compartment where his sunglasses had been stored. A big red button glinted back at him, and Bruce was reminded of the saying "never press the big red button" and before he could question its function, it was pressed and an ear ringing screech had him swinging around to see the spot where Ellie once stood to be no more. The girl was gone, and in that split second of shock gave the wondering presence in his head to break through.

"Hey, watch it!" Tony shouted as he dove out of the way of a swinging green fist as Bruce groan turned to more of a grunt. No matter how many times he saw the transformation on screen, it still fascinated him to see the gamma revamp the doctor into- well _this_.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

No matter how fast she could run, Ellie still felt that falling wasn't fast enough, she hated to feeling of fear that rose in her throat and the anxiety that made her stomach cramp.

"_CLARK!_" the strangely high pitch that came out of her mouth surprised her as well as the buzzing sound ringing in her ears. It was always her standing in the sidelines watching people get saved, not in reverse and it scared the living daylights out of her just as much as the time she appeared in this world.

A force suddenly slammed into her, knocking the remaining breath out of her and her hands numbly grab onto anything for leverage.

"You're a hard woman to find, Ellie" a deep voice chuckled above her, sending goose bumps rise on her skin at the baritone. Looking up she was choked with tears at a _very_ familiar face, happiness overcoming the sudden fear.

"You're a harder person to get a hold of" was her late reply as she leaned forward in his grasp and hugged his neck, his cape tickling her nose, and was about to let the tears flow when a terrifying roar had her arms contract tighter around the heroes neck. "uhm, Clark?" she murmured, lightly tugging on his raven hair.

"Yes?" he had already craned his neck backwards to see where the ear ringing yell had come from, though it seemed to be struggling with somebody that was reassuring it-he was stuck between helping the individual out or letting him talk down the other one.

"You know that big building with the big _A_ on it?"

"The building that you fell from?"

Ellie was tempted to correct him, she didn't fall, she was _dropped_, but decided better of it and replied, "We need to go back there, my-err" oh, why not? They were better company than Clint, "my friends are back there, they can help us"

"I'm not sure you want to go back there, Ellie, there seems to be a dispute going on as we speak"

"Yeah" she replied lamely, honestly not knowing how to handle the situation now that she was in it, "they're-unique".

"Your call" Ellie felt him shrug as he arched upwards to bring them towards the direction of Tony's tower. Savoring the wind in her hair she briefly closed her eyes.

"_Ellie, I would like you to meet an acquaintance of mine"_

_Looking up from her perch next to the sink, watching Alfred wash the dishes, Ellie was met with a new face. Dark hair like Bruce's with more of a blue tent to it, nearly as tall, if not taller statute and just as kind eyes that were a pretty blue. He was wearing a suit as well, making her conscious of her informal, paint spattered, yellow overalls and red shirt underneath. _

_Looking briefly down to judge the distance she pushed herself off the clean counter, teetering a bit but stuck the landing on her own two feet. She walked up beside Bruce, grasping his hand lightly to swing, and looked up at the new face._

"_I'm Ellie" she broke the silence offering her free small hand to the man, looking briefly back at Alfred to make sure she was doing it right. Her hand being enveloped in a warm one brought her gaze back to see the blue eyed man now crouching in front of her, smiling._

"_I've heard so much of you, Miss Ellie, My name is Clark, Clark Kent"_

"I don't suppose we're too welcome at this moment , Ellie"

Opening her eyes she looked back to see a giant mass of green try to side step a fully armored Tony Stark who looked like he was banged around once or twice in the span she had been dropped. He had his hands raised in a defensive gesture, mechanical voice muttering out half-hearted jokes to keep the beasts attention on him, failing as green eyes raged at Clark and her…

Or maybe just at Clark.

With a roar he flung Tony away from him and leaped into the air, his form ramming into the hovering pair. And that was when Tony's idea became reality, and how Ellie figured out that though Clark may be impossibly strong, The Hulk was impossibly stubborn and gave him a run for his money.

Ellie squealed when a green hand suddenly grabbed onto Clark's face, jerking it back making his form jerk sideways. Trying to break away, Clark released one arm from Ellie to fling the green hulk away, and it would have worked if Hulk hadn't had a solid grip on his face. Suddenly Clark spun his form wildly and Ellie forced her tea down, a mix between red and green morphing into a swirling blur in her vision.

"_Tony_!" if this was his partywish, he may as well be involved in it, "_Get him off_-"

There was another jerk, this time, it was _away _from her and she was once again free falling. Eyes widening in renewed fear she helplessly flapped her arms, swearing under her breath in quick gasps of killing Tony if she lived through this. Clenching her eyes closed, she prayed.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

Curled up in a fetal position, Ellie was momentarily disoriented, not knowing where she was or how she got where she was. Blinking the spinning away from her sight, she came face to face with vibrant green that seemed to be alive, twitching that moved her along with it.

A snort brought her to full attention. Raising her head she had to stop when it bumped into something tough.

"Ellie?" a muffled shout came from beyond her line of sight, beyond the moving cocoon she seemed to be in. Pushing against it she was push on her bum when it jerked against her. "Ellie, are you hurt?"

A load roar came too close for comfort for her, her body moving with the rocking motion of her temporary sitting arrangements. Huffing a bit she pushed harder, startle when she was blinded by light for a moment before some part of her cocoon disentangled and pushed her back.

Blinking, she forced her eyes to adjust, using the bit of light she had to reflect it to her benefit. It was then she realized her cocoon was actually two giant hands cupped together to keep her in.

"Ellie!?"

It kind of sounded like Clark…

"Uhm" Ellie murmured awkwardly, not sure how to resolve the problem at hand, "Bruce?" receiving an aggravated huff in response she quickly corrected her mistake, "Hulk? Hey, buddy- err, you remember me, yes? From last night, with the mirrors? You, Bruce and me had a nice chit-chat"

A rumbling tone that oddly resembled a cat's purr on steroids met her before light started filtering into her vision before she saw a slightly comical view that she wouldn't let Tony live down.

Him on his knees next to a standing Superman who hand his hand threateningly around the back of his neck to keep him there, while Clark himself barely paid him mind, eyes anxiously traveling over her uninjured body before meeting the eyes of Hulk, though his question was aimed at her.

"He your friend too, Ellie?"

Assuming he heard her talking just moments before through Hulk's hands, she gave him what she hoped to be a confident smile, though she was still a bit shaken, "yeah" looking up at a disgruntled Hulk, she lamely grabbed his attention by waving her hand in his face, "and he's my friend too" at this she pointed to Clark.

"What about me?" Tony snapped flailing his arms uselessly, "chop liver?"

* * *

**Real work on the backburner for now. Questions, question away. BTW, thanks for those few who actually are following this. Much appreciated.**


	4. Sparks

**Chapter 4. Sparks**

"Find anything yet?"

Bruce looked up from his hand held scanner to Ellie who sat beside him wringing out her hands, a flash of nostalgia washing through him at the action itself. Her hair was in a tight braid today, a whirlpool of red and yellow trailing down to pool on the ground behind where she sat and a green tank top replaced her usual red and yellow hoodie, the two green opals hanging around her neck complimenting it. She had strayed over to him when they had arrived at the floating fortress, seeing as Clark was immediately separated from her for Fury to debrief and Tony opted to catch up later, as his newest suit had more than a few dents put into it.

Focusing on the data flashing up at him, he shook his head, "There's definitely radiation, but I'm not sure what to look for when it comes to the different between one realm and the next, except maybe electrical waves, but those are already erratic…" It was confusing enough when Fury had to explain it to him, if others thought Tony and him where difficult to understand then it must be a similar feeling when he tried to understand a theory from a man who was trained in battle tactics more than the field of science. It came to the point where Ellie just showed him a comic book with a similar problem as theirs for him to grasp and formulate in his head.

"Sorry I can't do much" Ellie replied bringing her hands under her chin, "if you ever need a cool breeze, though, I'm your girl" Looking over to the shy doctor she grinned a bit, "would you mind if I pried a bit?"

"You've already seen the Other Guy" Bruce assured her, "so other issues seem trivial to me"

Leaning towards him a bit, eyes flashing around the sky they overlooked on the steps they occupied in front of the window, she whispered, "he doesn't like Tony much, does he?"

Catching himself before he could snort in amusement, he turned his head, momentarily dizzy at the close proximity of her face and his before answering, "he likes Tony more than a lot of people I've met, actually". He wasn't going to elaborate; it wasn't like he communicated with his alter ego over tea but the emotions he feels from the Other Guy are enough to go with. "They've seemed to grow on each other, the way Tony goes on about it"

"Didn't seem to like him today" Ellie bluntly pointed out, holding up a finger.

"The reason I keep telling him- everyone- not to put too much faith in me" he countered, "he doesn't mule over anything for long, he's a nerve, he's fueled by emotion and could turn on you on a dime if you did something he didn't like"

"Wouldn't anyone else?" she questioned, grinning humorously, "I mean, yeah, if I had his strength, I would show Tony exactly how I felt if he pushes my buttons, heck, I would even eat all of Clint's damn covers if I could"

"You're saying he's just like everyone else" raising an eyebrow at this Bruce adjusted his glasses to gaze at the lingering clouds, "that he's _normal_"

"What is normal?" Ellie shot back, waggling her fingers at him, "we're certainly not normal-" waving her hand towards a random hall "-Clint's not normal, neither is Fury"

"That's-"

"Different?" she poked his cheek, feeling amusement bubble up her throat when it twitched, "yes, our brains are funky, a chemical imbalance here and there, and hey, some people have better senses than others" clapping her hands together as if to clear the air she continued, "is a valedictorian normal? An Author? Crazy old cat lady?"

"Point taken" Bruce chuckled at her optimism.

"We each make up a part of this world, balancing it out" tapping his chest, over his heart, she added, "even our friend in here"

"_You too?"_

_The mirror in front of him fogged over, muddling the view of the green beast on the other side. Bruce stayed bracing his hands on the sink counter while turning to the voice, blinking in surprise when he saw it was the new agent-Ellie-who was cleaning her hands in the sink next to his, the lights flickering above them._

"_Not enough sleep" he sighed to himself rubbing the bridge of his nose, "too many dreams"_

"_We all hide monsters, Dr. Banner" Ellie stated turning to face him, "sometimes they're the ones we see in the mirrors, or we lock them away in our shadows" turning to look at the green bulk that was Bruce's reflection she gently swiped the moisture away, gazing at the fierce, green, gaze she caught. "they don't always like to be holed up so much, nightmares come about"_

"_This nightmare is reality" he waved at his reflection, dropping his head down, "I try to make it better, I help people, but all that's left is destruction, anger and bitterness"_

"_Don't we all?" she waved at the giant, not in the least concerned when his face got closer, hands gasping the other side of the mirror making it crack a bit, "we all have monsters inside, though I see a dutiful guardian here" she paused a bit, "he feels betrayed, lonely" caressing her own finger against the Hulks bigger one, "give him some faith, Doctor, we're all the same here"_

_He gave her a dry look, body tingling with his other side so close, last time he was so close he was dragged through the mirror._

"_Look" swiping a hand across her own side of the mirror was a duplicate of herself, just more small and with brunette hair, wearing an abused sundress that looked too small for her teen years. Eyes swollen with tears, he saw her hands being wrung together, stained with blood, "scary, hu?"_

"_It's you" Bruce stated blandly, eyebrows knitting together._

"_Exactly" she whispered, eyes wondering a bit, "when you see _you_ as the monster, it's personal, too close to your soul" looking at the girl gazing back at her they both suddenly glared at one another, "I feel no betrayal from her just-accusation"_

_Looking up at the Hulk, he jumped when his gaze was returned too close for comfort._

"_You're a sad man, Dr. Banner" Ellie's voice drifted to him, "I think the Big Guy balances you out like any other monster we see in ourselves"_

_Looking up at her own reflection, Bruce saw her hand rub her chest above her heart, and almost as if whispering to herself, said, "even our friend in here"._

"Did I make yeah see life's purpose, or somethin', Dr. Banner?"

Shaking his head Bruce focused on the bubbly tone of Ellie who was looking at him goofily, "sorry, what?"

"Tony flicked us off" her own eyes showed a barely concealed crinkle as they sparkled at him and nodded to the window in front of them. When he looked, no one was there so he concluded he was already heading inside. Swinging his head back around he jerked when a hand ended up in his face, he looked up to see Ellie grinning sheepishly, "do you want to find him before he finds us?"

Taking the offered hand delicately, he stood, condensing the scanner to fit in his pocket before trailing after her up a stairway and down a catwalk to the control panels. Halfway down Ellie suddenly lurched forward, dizzying Bruce who's eyes tried to follow the windmill blurs that were her arms that sent a sudden gust of wind ruffling his shirt, before she righted herself to whip her head around to their immediate right where the culprit stood.

Clint grinned, bow lowered towards the ground, "maybe next time you'll give me a heads up before you pull a vanishing act, won't be so subtle next time"

Pulling the arrow out of the gated floor, Ellie had the urge to throw it back at him but refrained to tossing it back, "Did I give Mother Hen a fright?"

Her own lips pulled into a grin as his vanished, giving her a dry look.

"Uh" Bruce piped up, adjusting his glasses, "should I leave you two alone?"

"No" Ellie reaching back to grab his sleeve, "besides," she threw back to Clint, "I'm sure Fury sent you word".

"_After_ you left" he clarified, walking in step with them as they moved, at Bruce's side, "I need notice _before_ you decide to take a trip"

Looking back at him, she noticed Bruce's lost expression, "The Director assigned Clint as my guardian of sorts" she snorted, "not like I really get to do anything in the first place".

"Why would you need someone to look after you?" Bruce inquired, sparing Barton a look. It wasn't like Ellie knew a lot of people, coming from another world and all, from what she informed Tony and himself, she was taken in by an Institution before Fury caught wind of her and hauled her in not long after. Alone in a foreign world, one wouldn't stray too far from a place of comfort and security.

"Paranoia" Ellie shrugged, not really sure herself. She had asked Clint about Fury's decision but he was just as clueless as she was, saying he followed orders from the man without question- if questioned it ended up with the questioner getting an earful and a headache. "personally I would prefer someone like Mr. Rogers as company, polite and considerate"

"You didn't even know him at the time" Clint dead panned, "you still don't"

"Or even Bruce" she mulled it over like she didn't hear him, "he likes tea…"

"You didn't know him either" he inserted, catching Bruce's eye, "no offense, doctor"

"None taken" he assured the archer, "though she does make a point, I'm sure you're more useful to Fury out in the field instead of babysitting. Steve would have been a more logical choice; he needs company and is just as out of place as Ellie"

"I'm the only one that can _follow_ her" Clint explained, "you've seen her Flash tricks right?" at his nod, "I can follow that speed and if needed catch her" he patted his bow, "have some special arrows just for her".

"It's a _tranquilizer_" Ellie snapped ahead of them, unconsciously rubbing her neck.

"We had to test it out" Clint explained to Bruce, "it was… _refreshing_"

"What- laying your eggs?" Tony's voice boomed into the room as he glided out of a hallway next to the assembly table that they just arrived at. He wore a fresh suit, trademark red and yellow suitcase in his hand.

"I knew there was a reason I still like you" Ellie hummed a bit, taking a seat in one of the fluffy chairs, letting it sink her into bliss.

"It's the charm" Tony assured her, sitting beside her to present her with a neck sized metal ring that had the trademark _Stark Industries_ carved on in, "meet your newest friend, treat it well and I might give it to you"

"What is it?" she asked as Bruce stood in between their chairs to take a look at it, squinting at its blunt design.

"It's gonna read you like a book" he stated, unclasping it and jerked his chin to her neck, "move that tail of hair, kid"

Looking at Bruce for approval Ellie lifted her braid out of the way, a vibrating shiver running through her at the feel of cold metal that clicked into place around her neck like a necklace.

"Now, relax" Stark instructed, raising his hands slowly in warning before swiping a digit over his company's logo, making it light up with power. Ellie's eyes tried to catch a glimpse of what was happening but couldn't , her throat contracted at her dry gulp, and hands wrung at each other.

"Tony" Bruce inquired, crouching down to get a better look at his new invention, worried of what its purpose was, "is this safe?"

"Just wait" he urged, waving him off as his eyes stayed glued to Ellie's face. For a heartbeat nothing happened, then her face scrunched up as her body jerked in surprised and hands went to the metal collar.

Just as fast as it happened it disappeared, leaving Ellie gasping.

"You feeling alright?" Bruce asked, pressing a palm to her forehead before pressing two fingers to her wrist, recording her pulse then following up with peeling back her eyelid softly to check her pupils. Shaking him off she pushed off the chair to glower at a sheepish Tony Stark.

"You fucking **shocked **me!" she screeched moving so fast Tony couldn't react and was found with his collar clinched around his neck and face centimeters from hers, "I ought to-"

"Miss Pennyworth!"

Mentally groaning at the tone, Ellie unceremoniously dropped the billionaire into his seat, turning to greet the sight of a stone faced Fury with Clark and Clint behind him. She scowled as she reached for Tony's unwanted collar, not caring for her own safety as she roughly ripped it off, letting it drop, still sparking, at his feet. "Yes, Director?"

"We do nice to our comrades" he instructed, inclining his head for her to take her seat, which she did immediately, "Dr. Banner, would you attend to her while I speak to Mr. Stark alone?"

"Of course" Bruce spoke, ripping a hand clothe from his back pocket to put it on Ellie's neck gently, directing her hand to hold it in place, "come on"

"Dr. Banner" Bruce looked up in response, a hand on the small of Ellie's back as he prepared to guide her to the lab, "take Mr. Kent with you".

Clark spared the Director an unpleased look before nodded for Bruce to continue on, a few steps behind him as they passed hallways and turned a few corners before passing through a glass door to a clean research room where Bruce directed Ellie to sit on a stool.

"Director Fury didn't chew you out, did he?" Ellie attempted to lighten up the mood, swinging her legs in a slow moving pattern.

"There was nothing to chew" Clark responded looking pointedly at her, "all I was asked was how and when I arrived here... seemed he already knew everything else about me"

"Don't look at me!" Ellie defended leaning forward but was gently pushed back so Bruce could sterilize the cuts on her neck, "they have books on you, _conventions_- they knew more about you than me!"

A curious light came into his eyes, though at the same time his stance stiffened in wariness.

"I know" Clark's eyes darted to Bruce's, his glasses catching light. Raising an eyebrow, he silently inclined him to continue, "it's unnerving to have strangers know what you are"

"Indeed" he answered slowly, now looking at the said doctor in a new light, "I'm guessing you have another alias as well?"

Bruce involuntarily stiffened, eyes suddenly skittish as they returned to Ellie's injury. Brief inspection had him rummaging through a small drawer, quickly pulling out a small tube of paste.

"Dr. Banner?" Clark asked inquiringly, now more curious of what the kind doctor was capable of and if he's heard of his other identity.

"Director Fury hasn't informed you of much, has he?" Bruce evaded hesitantly, glad that Ellie wasn't pushing him and had otherwise occupied herself by playing with one of Tony's metal bands.

"He doesn't seem too keen on sharing much of anything, Doctor" Clark answered, giving Ellie a glance but saw she wasn't going to help. She always kept others' secrets close to her and he couldn't blame her for keeping this one as well.

"Yes, well…" clearing his throat , he smoothly applied the paste to the red patches on Ellie's skin, apologizing when she shivered, "you've already met… my alias" it was always discomforting having to make himself known to an outsider.

"I don't believe so" Clark insisted, only having encountered Tony Stark and a mass of Green hulk, "Ellie spoke of you during my… encounter with your friends"

"_You, Bruce and me had a nice chit-chat"_

"You are Bruce, correct?" he continued, making sure he wasn't mistaken on who was who on board.

"That's me" he sighed putting a patch of cotton on some wider cuts and taping them gently there, "and… so is the other guy you met"

"You are the metal man?" Clark asked suddenly confused on the roles each of them took to.

"_Iron_man, people" Tony barged in smoothing out his wild hair, though it didn't help any, "Not metal man, man of iron, but _Ironman_"

"Then that makes you-" he looked at Bruce in a new light, slight disbelief on his features.

"Our friendly green giant?" Tony finished with a grin, giving Bruce a thumbs up, "don't worry, he just has a thing against flying people" he did frown a bit at this though as he revised his words, "with the exception of me, of course"

Ellie rolled her eyes, gently prodding her neck with her index, smiling sheepishly when Bruce gave her a warning glance.

"It must be quite a change, I suppose" Clark concluded, looking Bruce up and down and mentally comparing him to the green mass he met early in the day.

"You could say…" Bruce murmured turning to look at Tony suddenly, indicating Ellie with his chin briefly, "what did you do to her?"

"The trials of science, my dear" he held up the broken collar in question, "and it was her fault"

"I didn't touch anything until _after_ it decided to shock me" Ellie grumbled crossing her arms but waved her them when Clark's gaze sharpened on Tony, "he was trying to help- I think"

"What else?" Tony quipped with a grin, "it was our dear Ellie here that conducted the electrical shocks-" holding up a hand to stop any outbursts that may follow"-it's the magnetic field around her, and I'm pretty sure it'd happen to spandex right here also"

"So I…" Ellie began, not really into the science department, "uh, I shocked myself?"

"Bingo!" Tony applauded tossing the collar at Bruce, "that was to measure the energy around you- I tested it out on Happy before I left, nothing exciting, really, but on you- sparks flew"

"I still didn't like it" Ellie stated willing herself not to rub at her neck.

"It got results" Tony mended turning to Clark, "willing to try out my toy? Got another one"

* * *

**Life complicates Life. I keep on reminding myself the world _isn't _ending. Questions, question away. **


	5. Your Move

**Chapter 5. Your Move**

_1,oo2…1,oo3…1,004…1,- why am I still doing this?_

Ellie silently groaned, throwing her arm over her eyes to stop herself from counting leaping rats before shifting to glance at Clark to her left. She hadn't been able to sleep with all the hype of the day and had snuck into his temporary room through the vent to camp out with him. It ended up with Clark falling asleep reading some newspapers and her to her own endless thoughts that flashed by too quickly for her liking.

Wringing out her hands, she glanced at the clock and noticed it to be early in the morning and that a new shift was about to begin around the carrier. Giving the slumbering Superman one last glance she made her way back to the air vent, skillfully scaling the wall and sliding through the opening. Shaking away the colder atmosphere she slid her way through the small maze, noting the functioning motion detectors and security features to make sure they were still doing their jobs.

Stopping at an unmarked vent she hummed lightly to herself, taking a closer look. A duffle bag was thrown on a slightly ruffled bed with a larger bag that seemed to be holding a larger circular object in it on the side. Seemed as though they were receiving more guests faster than she would have expected.

News traveled fast.

Rolling her shoulders, Ellie continued on her mini expedition to her room, off handedly checking the structure before a noise made her pause and look down a slightly longer structure of the vents. Casting her intended path a longing look she turned to investigate, her curiosity peeking through at the muffled voice at the end of the way.

"Woh.." she breathed peeking through the slits of the vent to gaze into the apparent Bruce Banner's quarters, glancing around to see if anyone else was seeing this, "talk about waking up on the wrong side of the bed"

It seemed to her that Bruce was stuck halfway into his Hulk form, sweats straining against pale green skin that was straining against muscle, face in a mask of pain and covers kicked off to the side.

"Err" Ellie stammered scratching the back of her head, looking behind her in hopes of having a second opinion but with no luck she turned back to the seen. Shimmying forward she lightly pushed the vent forward, peeking her head out cautiously, not wanting to startle the straining Doctor, "Bruce?" she whispered, flinching when it came out hoarse and loud instead of soft and soothing.

Getting no response she willed him to look at her, but after long moments she realized he wasn't even awake, he was still sleeping. Huffing in indecision she turned herself around to slide backwards into his room, her fingers crossed that she didn't make too much noise.

Once on the carpeted ground she tiptoed to the struggling form until she was by his head. Shaking out her hands she looked around the room for some sort of backup before reaching gently for him.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AK~

"_This seems…lonely" Ellie murmured looking around at the empty courtyard of what she thought was a college or university. Sure it was nice, open, and filled with luscious green floral decorations but it lacked the liveliness of human company. Raising a hand to her vision, she frowned at its bright, blurry, appearance. Shaking it back and forth, its image struggled to keep up so that when she stopped she still saw the hand moving to keep up with the original image. _

"_Bruce?" she called while jogging around the place looking for any sign of life, not even catching sight of birds in the trees. "Dr. Banner? Hey, it's Ellie!" getting no response she continued to circle the property, if this is where Bruce's thoughts took her, than that had to mean the problem laid here too. _

_And rounding the corner she came to her answer._

_A downed helicopter littered the frontline of this courtyard, though no smoke came from it signaling it had happened a long time ago, along with some immobile-some crushed others dismantled- Humvees and Battle tanks. Walking forward she discovered discarded weapons and clips, a boulder in the ground and bloodied pieces of torn cloth. _

"_Bruce?" she tried again, more confident that he would be around _somewhere_ here. Picking up her pace she swung her head back and forth, looking high in the trees and under bushes to catch a glimpse of her quickly becoming favorite person in this strange world. "Helloooo?" she waved her arms in the air, slightly jumping to catch anyone's attention._

_When nothing came of her callings she huffed and crossed her arms, taking a step back to survey the wrecked school when she noticed an enclosed observing hallway built in between two buildings that was smashed open leaving jagged pieces of glass glinting in the sun. Squinting she was able to see a dark figure through the destruction and that was all she needed to dash to the nearest entrance to find that glass hallway. Security walkthroughs were empty along with the computer labs and library, nameless doors blurred by her as she sped through the entire building in minutes before she found the right one._

_Breathing in and cracking her neck she eased the door open, sighing in relief when she found the form of the doctor standing at the edge of the hole, glass and stone spattered around him and the wind ruffling his slightly curled hair._

"_You're it!" Ellie sang walking towards him with a friendly grin. Hands on her hips she watched as he jerked up and turned towards her in alarm- strangely seeing him slouch in relief at seeing her spread warmth through her. "You alright there?" she asked stepping closer to the hole._

"_Just… thinking" Bruce summed up with a shrug looking over the destruction just under and beyond them. He shook his head, taking off his glasses to rub the bridge of his nose, "this should never have happened"_

"_Looked exciting" Ellie commented as realization washed over her, "someone pushed too hard?"_

"_In public" he confirmed shaking his head, "I hurt.. I hurt a lot of people I shouldn't have, and a person I desperately didn't want seeing me like _that_ ever again"_

"_Things happen for a reason, Bruce" Elli tried, "you have to accept what you become" she threw her arm away from her to indicate the scene before them, "you need to accept this"_

"_I loved her" Bruce admitted screwing his eyes closed, his composed image faltering as emotion rode over him. Ellie briefly felt her arms tingling in an uncomfortable way and felt brief panic rush over her as she thought of what was happening back in the real world before she shook herself to worry about it when the time came._

"_Is she dead?" she asked, afraid of getting deeper in the subject but knowing he needed to learn to let the past go to stop stressing so much._

"_No!" he snapped, his eyes blazing at her with a sudden green, "she's married, has kids… I could have been him, I could've- but I'm a monster, no one could love a monster!"_

_Ellie's back clenched painfully and she knew that things were going to blow out of proportion very quickly if he hulked out on the carrier._

"_No one can" she stood up to him, "don't you see? No one can love you if you don't let them, you're so caught up in hate that you don't see that some people, you're _friends_ accept you and aren't afraid to love you for who you are- who you've became and become, but you push them away"_

"_What friends?" he roared bitterly, his form becoming akin to the image Ellie last saw him as, "they were forced to interact with me- for their own purpose, I wasn't in their agenda, I just happened to be at their disposal when they needed me"_

"_Your friends _need _you" Ellie stressed, forcing herself not to make any nervous movements in fear of getting beaten back into reality, "no one can force people on you, you always have a choice, Bruce"_

"Idon't!_" he screamed beginning to tower above her, teeth bared at her, "I didn't _chose_ this life, my _choice_ was taken away and it continues to be taken away, _he_ rules over me"_

"_You have to accept that and move on" she pressed, flinching when his back arched with his green eyes still raging on her, "you let him rule over you, Bruce, you believe you're out of control so you let him reign over you-"_

"_I fight, dammit!" he screamed, bones cracking threateningly, "I fight and he pushes, he _always_ wins"_

"_Because you believe he always will!" she suddenly screamed back, "you have it set in your mind he's out to ruin your life and he has the power to do whatever he wants, you have so many negative feelings about him that _you_ fuel him, you hand him the power and he knows he has the upper hand, _he _has no choice but to choose for you"_

This is so much easier on cats _she though as she forced herself not to cower as Bruce let out another roar that had her ears ringing._

"He _needs _you_" she continued, "he's always there for you, but you continue to slaughter his name, his very existence" she bit the inside of her cheek when all she received was angry huffs, "he's blindly following your lead, Bruce, you have to accept that he's there and will always be, it's time that you be the bigger man and understand his pain, not just yours"_

_Bruce's stance faltered as the haze suddenly left him, feeling his body return to its normal state before falling to his knees at a loss of energy. Hearing his name he looked up, seeing Ellie standing hesitantly to the side, hands wringing out on themselves before she opened her mouth again._

"_I want to be your friend" she stated with a sad smile, "Tony is- us together should be enough but I could go on…"_

_Bruce blinked his eyes slightly as he allowed it all to sink into his mind. _His_ pain? _ The Hulk's _pain? Was that true?_

_A buzzing came into his ears just as a green leg came into view, startling him half to death as his gaze snapped up to that of the Hulk's, it was discerning to be once again faced with his other half._

"_**Hulk**__.._" _the giant huffed, looking back at Ellie but saw she had disappeared so he looked back at Bruce, "__**Hulk..friend**__"_

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAK~

It wasn't much of a surprise when Ellie woke up that she found herself crumple against the wall farthest from the bed, with throbbing arms and a sharp pain in her lower back no less. Shifting awkwardly on her back she felt the sleep that earlier had evaded her now pushing at the edges of her mind.

"I'm too young for this" she groaned getting up while holding a hand to her back like it would lessen the pain, but to no avail. Straightening up slowly she arched backwards, a satisfying crunch reaching her ears as well as a fierce burn to replace the back pain, "too early". Scratching the back of her head she turned towards the now sedative Doctor, features peaceful though his jammies took a turn for the worst- still intact, mind you.

Trying to push the pain away she bent down and retrieved his covers, playfully throwing them over his slumbering body, effectively covering his face along with the rest of him. With a smile she turned towards the vent, stopping when a flashing light from the doorway caught her attention.

Eyebrows scrunched together she got a closer look, baffled when she saw the 'Access Denied' light flashing in warning. Ellie weighed just leaving against looking through the eye hole, most rooms were sound proof for the benefit of light sleepers so the hole in the door was the only means to see who was trying to get in.

A glance at Bruce made her decision, so she used the tip of her toes to look through to the other side, jerking back in a blur in fright when she was met with a clear blue eye staring back at her. Bringing a hand to her chest she sighed, shaking her head, "Christ".

Thinking that it was probably Clint or a passing agent Ellie went back to her vent, not willing to try and explain why she was in the shy doctor's room. With a strung up jump, she grasped the edges of the vent and slid herself in, wiggling forward to get her momentum going.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk" a voice graveled making her freeze, "and here I thought I had raised you better, my little duckling"

"Shit-Clint!" Ellie shouted trying to hang on to a ledge as her foot was dragged backwards, dragging her along as she couldn't get a decent grip. "I didn't do anything, I didn't-let go, bird brains!" she squealed as gravity took its toll as she was flung out of the ventilation, reflexes springing to life despite the bad back making her twist in midair to land on all fours, evading a more serious injury.

"Still need to work on flying, but you got the landing down pat"

"You go fly- right off the edge of the carrier" Ellie grouched slowly making her way back to her feet, air seething out between her teeth as she held her back tenderly. She looked around the hallway they were in, concluding they were in front of Bruce's door, and found a new face. "Oh, sorry, Clint's fishing for compliments" she held out her hand offering the man a smile, "Ellie"

"Oh" the man jumped, making her realize that he was wearing some sleeping clothes, though his hair was neatly parted as he shook her hand quickly, almost nervous, "Steve Rogers, Ma'am"

"Mr. Rogers?" quickly she looked up at his face, just now registering what his features were. An old world, lost, face smiled brokenly back at her, matching up almost identically to his profile picture, "finally!" she cried in relief grabbing his hand again, this time shaking it energetically, "you're here to replace this bird brained ass, right?"

"Excuse me?" both men asked, though with totally different tones and expressions.

"I knew the director had a soft side" Ellie sighed happily, still with Steve's hand tightly clasped in both of hers, stars in her eyes, "no more stink, no more covers, no more of his pecking in the middle of the night, a wish come true"

"Bree, he-" but she had already sped away, making Steve stumble as his hand was caught in hers for half a second before it was let go, "don't listen to her, she's a nutcase, I swear"

Steve momentarily didn't answer her, dazed as he tried to make sense of the yellow and red blur that had been a human being. Shaking himself he looked back, "I thought she was fairly nice"

"Cap', she's a nutcracker ready to explode, plus she's starting to like Stark, bad combo for you" Clint sighed running a hand through his short cropped hair before a yawn escaped his mouth, "Me and early mornings, now that is another bad combo"

"Sorry but Dr. B-" Steve started again on his apologies but was cut off when his hand was snatched and he was stumbling after a skipping redhead, "Uh, Ma'am?"

"I took the liberty to help you move in- you don't have much anywho" Ellie informed as they stepped around a pile of covers, boots, uniforms, bows and arrows, led to a spotless room with his two bags neatly on the bed, "I hope you don't mind"

"Is.. is this okay? Are you-we allowed to do this?" he stumbled, not wanting to offend the bubbly woman who was smiling as brightly as her strange hair, he didn't have the heart to rain on her good mood. He flinched when he heard Clint catch up with them, cursing as he saw his stuff carelessly dumped outside the door.

"Of course" she smiled, producing an access card from her pocket, putting it in his hand, "you're all good to go, good night, Mr. Rogers!" With that she strode across the room, shutting the door behind her, cutting off Clint's irritated voice and a loud crash.

He stood there awkwardly, hearing the muffled argument on the other side of the door until it slowly started to quiet down, leaving him to sit down heavily on his new bed, puffing out his cheeks before letting the air out in a whistle.

"Better than last time" he concluded falling backwards with his arms crossed behind his head, deciding for a nap before the meeting in the afternoon.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAK~

"Master Bruce?" Alfred carefully inquired, worried for the man sitting in front of the waning blue current in front of him, staring in deep thought.

"Our last chance" Bruce muttered, rubbing his weary eyes, all of his fighting days suddenly weighing on him, "we have to get her back, Alfred"

"I know, sir" Alfred sighed sadly, faintly remembering a small body next to his by a roaring fireplace, "but you must be prepared for the worst, it's been years…"

"Have you?" he whispered, eyes reflecting an electric blue, "been prepared?"

The old butler opened his mouth but paused a moment before speaking, "… not as much as I'd prefer, sir"

Bruce balled up his fist, rubbing it against his forehead before sighing, "Any word from John about Clark?"

"None"

* * *

**Better day, Better thoughts. Keep Calm and Call Batman t-shirt - Better. Gratitude for those following.**


	6. Moving Pains

**Chapter 6. Moving Pains**

"When'd you get the time to make these?" Ellie asked quizzically as she fiddled with Tony's newest invention. It had some weight to it and would shock her every now and then as she tossed it in between her hands. She looked up at the grinning billionaire who had his hands stuffed in his suit pockets, staring at her mindlessly. "What? Are my roots showing again?" she mindlessly fingered her hair, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Have I ever mentioned that love the hair?" he quipped chewing at his thumb nail for a moment before pausing, his lips twitching, "you're a fan, aren't you?"

"I can spin" she supplied with amusement, her smirk turning into a grin when Tony continued staring at her, apparently not getting it, "you know-fan, spin…air?" holding up her pointer finger she spun it in a circular motion in a blurring motion, effectively sending a small gust of wind his way.

"Ah, very good" he chuckled, smoothing out his now wild strands, "but seriously, got this red and yellow thing about you, one of my secret followers now are we?"

"Red and…" she fingered her hair once again, eyebrows knotting together as his ironman features flashed by her thoughts. "You're so full of yourself" she sighed shaking her head, "I just happen to prefer this to my natural hair color"

"Your brows tell me a different story" Tony pointed out taking out his phone to mindlessly fiddle with it, glancing up at her to indicate her dark brown eyebrows.

"Hu" Ellie uttered crossing her arms and leaning back, "what does my finger say to you?" she raised her middle finger in emphasis.

"Where _are_ your parents?" he shot back in a condescending tone, shaking his own finger.

"Stark"

Both of them twitched their heads to the side to see Steve standing there awkwardly, eyes skittish as they swept the room, occasionally eyeing them both.

"What do you want, Monkey Boy?" Tony grumbled holding up his phone sideways with his tongue slightly sticking out. Tapping out some simple commands he glanced up with a lazy grin, uttering, "smile"

Ellie blinked at time slowed down for her. She zoomed in on Tony's phone, mentally flipping the text to read it herself and when she saw the command 'photo' and a slowly building light in the center she flashed a classic fish face as time resumed in normal speed.

"That.." Tony began frowning as he gazed at the snapshot, clearly a deliberate face not a shocked one, "that was…"

"Fast" Steve equipped helpfully, blinking his eyes to make sure he saw right. One second she froze the next her face flipped to a cheeky shot.

"Amazing" Tony deadpanned, scowling at the soldier, "That was amazing, definitely a keeper"

"Always" Ellie stated smiling, holding up the new collar she had been toying with, "now, what's this?"

"Our ticket" The genius replied with a grin stuffing the phone back in his pocket, "goes both ways, don't lose it"

"Ticket where?" she asked juggling the contraption in her hands, pouting when Tony promptly snatched it out of the air, "Malibu?"

"You have Malibu on your side?" he side tracked in thought, "what makes it so different to be different to a parallel universe? Besides not having me in it"

"Gotham. Metropolis. Some other places I'd rather not name" she listed briefly watching as he fiddled with it a bit, "it could be parallel without those though" she mumbled under her breath thinking of the similar yet opposite personalities of Tony and her Bruce. She squinted her eyes at the though, mindlessly propping her feet on the table, thumb nail in her mouth… who would win? Tony had better technology but without the suit…

"Hey, you're on my side" Tony remarked waving his metal collar at her as to reprimand her, "remember, my colors-my side"

"You don't even know what I was thinking, you old hoot" Ellie grumped crossing her arms and hiding her hands under her red and yellow sleeves, "and they're not your colors"

Tony stared at her for a moment like she was a dumb before shaking his head, "right, gotcha, female flash" she pulled her red hood up at that, tugging at the hem self-consciously, "and old? Really, how old _are _you?" he looked her up and down, gouging the barely there, but noticeable, smiling lines around her eyes and the way she never stopped moving her hands, like they were bugging her if she didn't move them around. Arthritis maybe? Tics? She definitely wasn't the nervous type like Bruce is…

He glanced down at her legs, pretending to size her up, slowly moving up from her feet to her thighs, noting the rotating ankles and swinging of the knees. Always moving.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to ask a woman her age?" he brought his eyes back up to hers with his eyebrows shooting to his forehead, staring, "…32, utter a word and I'll throw you off this thing without your suit"

"Not even my birthday suit?" he barked in laughter as he ducked under a pen that was thrown at him, freezing in surprise when his head was wacked from behind.

"Knock it off, Stark" Steve snapped, aggravated as he came to stand by Ellie's chair. He jerked his chin to the collar, "jewelry?"

"Jewelry? How.." Tony's growl trailed off as he looked from his invention to the Captain and back, "Ha, very funning, pick that up from me, didn't you? Old dogs _do _learn new tricks"

"Hey, now!" Ellie jumped up to place herself between the two men, "_we do nice to our comrades_!" she quoted the Director quickly, waving her hands in the air.

"Practice what you preach, why don'tcha?" Clint voice stopped her and suddenly letting the oversized boys go at it didn't seem like a bad idea so that she could smother Barton with covers. As she turned, holding up an extra pen like it was a knife, he added, "and, Bree?"

"_What?_" she seethed, baring her teeth at him.

He grinned as another voice drifted in to her left, "We do nice to our comrades, Miss Pennyworth"

_I'm gonna peck your eyes out_ she mouthed to Clint as she innocently turned toward her new audience, twirling the pen through her fingers, "G'Afternoon, Director"

Fury stared her down until she hesitated and sat down, having Steve and Tony take a seat on either side of her. "I'm taking a guess and saying Mr. Stark hasn't informed you of your assignment I sent him out to tell an hour ago"

"We did talk-" when he glared at her she quickly added "about nothing important" she turned to Tony stoically, "bad, Tony, bad". This had Tony snickering, muttering, "here, here".

"As I've gathered" Fury stated humorlessly, "Agent Barton has been informed, so he will be better equipped to explain as you pack your bags"

"Hu?" Ellie breathed, a bit dumbfound, and just as her mind sped up to the speed of light, hope rising, Clint opened his mouth.

"A retrieval mission, you aren't officially _leaving_ the nest yet "

"Then why am I packing!?" Ellie exploded, standing up as millions of reactions and outcomes flashed through her mind and her subconscious trying to hole them back up, "you can't-"

"I can and I will" Fury said calmly, not batting an eye at her, "you're still under my employment and even if it's temporary, I'd actually thought you'd like to retrieve your Foster Father"

If it hadn't been for Steve next to her, Ellie would have been embarrassed as they both reared back in confusion, for different reasons but it made her feel better that she wasn't the only one lost as it seemed both Tony and Clint already knew the details.

"We can't risk that the portal won't close after we've taken you home, Miss Pennyworth" Fury went on, "Mr. Stark has kindly made a small system that will allow you to pass through for a certain amount of time before you'll be sucked back through to our side-"

"There's a transmission that will be linked to your energy field that will temporarily connect with your world so that you'll have a happy trip to the right destination" Tony butted in, "now, you could just take off the collar once you get to Kansas" ignoring the Director's glare he continued, "but we still need you _here_, seeing as no one knows how or when spandex came to be here, or you for that matter, so we don't want to take the chance anyone else being stuck in this world that doesn't belong. Until we sweep up the strays, you're stuck with us, Sweet Cheeks".

"Then send Clark with me so that he can go back home" Ellie slumped down, seldom at the thought she had yet to settle back home, temporarily forgetting Fury mentioning retrieval.

"If you'd let me finish" Fury ground out, giving Tony a look, "there are three transmitting collars, seeing as you'll be accompanied by Agent Barton and needed an extra one to bring back an extra person. Mr. Kent will be sent with you so he can continue his job protecting his own world, he will comply as to give back his collar to you so that it can be worn by Mr. Wayne so he can come back here"

Ellie immediately perked up, Steve still confused as he watched her mood flip on a dime and slouched.

"But why does Barton have to come?" she asked, sending the archer a withering glare before looking back at Fury, "why not Tony? Steve?" her eyes brightened as a new idea came to mind, "OH, how bout Bruce- the doctor Bruce-He'd be awesome company. Nice, calm, smart-"

Tony looked offended and Steve looked a bit disappointed as Fury spoke, Clint rolling his eyes along the way, "Agent Barton was assigned to you for a reason, Miss Pennyworth, and it's his duty to fulfill the job requirements that go with it"

"Couldn't, you know, swap 'em?" Ellie asked tentavely, seeing Fury's cold stance, "I thought sending Steve down was you showing me you were turning over a new leaf – you know, replacing Birdie with a gentleman? Isn't it Steve's job now?" she pushed, opting for Steve's company as her latter one was rejected.

"I didn't hand Agent Barton's job over to anyone" Fury stated, blinking, "Mr. Rogers was pulled in as was mandatory, seeing as he's a part of the team"

"But.." Ellie was looking over at Tony for help, but he seemed put off that his company was put off once again, "But… I already moved Steve in, Director"

Fury stood clueless as the room kept quiet despite the workers below them.

"Into Clint's room" she explained, smiling sheepishly when the Director brought his hand up to rub the bridge of his nose in exasperation, "I was mistaken… but they both took it well!"

Steve still looked a bit put out while Clint glared at the reminder of all his belongings being dumped in the hallway.

"Agent Barton is there for your protection" Fury reminded the woman, "Mr. Rogers has some catching up to do while Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are staying here to make sure you can safely travel back and forth without anything going wrong"

"Fine" Ellie sighed, "but why do I have to pack if I'm coming back?"

"Just in case the next time we decide to send you off is the last, we want to make sure nothings left behind if you leave in a rush" Fury supplied as he turned to leave the area.

It was quiet for a moment before Ellie cracked one of her knuckles, murmuring, "does Clark know anything?"

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

Bruce adjusted his glasses with his free hand as he gazed up at the neon blue tear in the sky, occasionally giving off electricity as the energy rolling and colliding off of it. He hadn't gotten the chance to really look at it last time, when Loki attacked, so he wasn't sure if it was anything like the last hole in the sky. He looked down at Ellie who was clutching his arm with both of hers, her eyes looking down at the drop instead of up – seemed she didn't trust herself around drop offs anymore.

"Are you sure you can't convince Tony to zap another collar up so you can go with us?" Ellie asked again, dreading the small amount of time alone with Clint and the departure of Clark, "maybe Clark wants to stay and-"

"He needs to go back to his city, his city needs _him_ more than we do" Bruce smiled gently, catching on that she already knew this as she slouched in defeat, "Gotham needs Batman too, but it seems to be filled with psychotic villains than super ones – I'm sure that's how Fury sees it, us needing him more than your world"

Ellie kicked at the landing pad, air whipping past them.

"Chin up" he chuckled, finding her hand shyly to give it a squeeze, "it won't be long, before you know it, it will be all over with, things will go back to normal- well, as normal as it can get" he corrected, bumping his elbow into her with a sincere smile.

"It's just going back only to have to leave again" Ellie admitted with a sigh, "I get to see Bruce-" she stumbled at the name, blushing when she realized the names were going to be hard to place now, "the other Bruce-" yet again she stammered, as Bruce's dubbed name for The Hulk was 'The Other Guy'.

"I know what you mean" Bruce chuckled, clearly amused. He had felt so much lighter when he woke up, almost younger and _himself_. He tried to grasp the fleeting memory of his dream but knew he'd have to wait to recall it as he was left empty handed.

"I get to see Bruce and stay with him after so many years – but…" Ellie groaned, beginning to get a head ache, "… just being home, in front of a fire place with Alfred waiting up for Bruce, I miss that and it won't be happening for another long time. I won't properly reunite with my family"

"You said Bruce was your adopted Father, yes?" Bruce inquired softly.

"Yeah, after an accident with Mum and Dad being an-" she stopped, taking a breath, "he put me under his wing, but Alfred agreed that it would be safer if it was just a select few who knew that _the_ Bruce Wayne adopted a kid, to everyone else, I was Alfred's relative who needed a new home"

"That explains it" Bruce murmured, matching the odd last name to facts of origin, "sorry, it bugged me once I actually read through your name a couple times"

"You're the first one to ask" Ellie shrugged, frowning as she saw Clint and Clark look towards her expectantly, "I suppose the Director made up his own theory of my name, it's not really in the file either"

Bruce felt a bit of pride welling up that he got a bit of information Ellie hadn't given out to just anyone, though a tidbit sad also seeing it was her time to leave.

"Everything will be fine" he assured her once more before detangling himself for her arms and urging her away with a gently hand on the small of her back, "I'll be watching over you, so will Tony, so I'd say chances are slim anything could go wrong"

"Famous last words, Dr. Banner" Ellie teased back, grateful for the lighter mood, "I'll see you with your double later"

"Be careful" he murmured back, stuffing his hands in his pockets as his chest tightened in anticipation and doubts rose. She would come back, right? The other Guy shook off his worries to replace it with confidence – startling Bruce with his aid.

"She'll come back, lover boy" Tony piped up next to him, chewing on those tasteless dried blueberries again before grinning at Bruce's pink tinted face, "don't worry, your secrets safe with me"

Bruce rubbed his nose. The whole world knew he was Ironman, he didn't really have secrets that didn't involve his health, so Bruce could imagine what his gossiping mouth would spew out now.

And it didn't go by Tony Stark that Bruce didn't deny anything.

* * *

**Dry coughing and warm tea _is not_ helping. Questions, question away. Gratitude for the comments, also C: it was lovely walking about Downtown Disney with no money, waiting for a showing that didn't start for another two hours and getting a buzz from my phone alerting me that someone reviewed. Needless to say it made those two hours waiting better.**


	7. Retrieval

**Chapter 7. Retrieval **

Ellie did not do falling very well.

Needless to say after successfully flying _up_ through the blue portal, they had found themselves falling _down. _Clark had immediately righted himself while his two companions continued falling like _rocks_. While Ellie was proud of herself to say she wasn't screaming, she couldn't say she was proud of clinging to Clint like a leach, who _was_ screaming- well, yelling out curses, but screaming non the less.

"That was a doozy" Clark chuckled apologetically as soon as he jerked them to a stop, having caught the back of Clint's uniform with Ellie still attached to him. Looking around them Ellie saw that they were in Gotham city, closer to Wayne Enterprise than the mansion and her mind bolted out of its lock of fear to formulate some plans. "Can you make it from here, Ellie?"

"Could you drop us off by Bruce's building?" Ellie asked, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes, ignoring Clint who started getting purple from her tight grip around his neck, not to mention his uniform aiding in the constriction with Clark holding him up.

"Not a problem" he responded leaning forward before shooting across the sky, trying to receive as little attention as possible. The wind tugged at them, smog drifting into their senses, and between trying to breathe and not move around in Superman's grasp, Clint found the city a bit depressing. They received few stares from onlookers – those who did see really didn't bat an eye at them, these days it wasn't uncommon to see superman and the excitement of him quickly settled down after a while.

"This looks oddly familiar" Clint wheezed out, looking at the building that was stamped 'Wayne', "you sure Tony hasn't rubbed off on your side?"

"It's more for an image and financial support" Ellie mumbled leaning forward, actually having Clint grasp at her fearing she might fall, "though it was kinda funny when I saw the Stark Tower" she admitted as a final though. "Over there" she instructed Clark with a point of the finger, directing him to the top of the building where the emergency exit was located.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAK~

"I usually do break ins… with more dignity"

Ellie glared back at Clint, briefly sticking her tongue out at him before facing forward, mentally picturing the ventilation system of Wayne Enterprises. It was a joke when she was smaller, sneak up on Bruce and all, but was sadly mistaken when it became known that no one can sneak up on Batman, but the blue prints she memorized for weeks to figure that out paid off – even if it was nearly 20 years later. So there they were, Ellie and Clint, crawling through the ventilation system with only the recollection of an eleven year olds memory to get to the billionaire's, Bruce Wayne's, office.

"Just a little bit longer" Ellie hissed back, moving her braid out of her face, biting back a grin when she heard Clint curse after a subtle _slap_ was heard. Rounding a sharp corner she looked through the shutters of the present vent, she paused, biting her lip.

"What?" Clint gripped, scowling as he scooted forward to look through the slits of the vent, squinting when he saw two people in a large room with an equally large table. He zeroed in on the younger looking one – though young was a bit off, he looked a bit gruff with a hard lip and carefully slicked back hair.

"You, not a word, you hear?" Ellie whispered, flicking him in the nose to get her point across. Her stomach was in knots at seeing both men… they hadn't changed much since the last time she saw them, maybe a deeper line around the eye, but that was all…Mr. Fox looked as uptight as usual. Would Bruce be okay with this? Should she wait for Mr. Fox to leave? Maybe she should've asked Clark to stay a bit longer…

"Man…" she groaned wringing her hands out in a sure sign of nervousness, looking at Clint, maybe for help. She wouldn't admit to that either, but stress made people do silly, _stupid_ things. Touching her braid thoughtfully, she pushed her mind pass the problem at hand and looked beyond that. They would have to get out of the building, no doubt there would be reporters or even a stray camera waiting to get a look at Bruce Wayne, he would need to pack some things, assuming he would agree to S.H.I.E.L.D's proposition. Clint could take care of that if it was too pressing. They would need to go with him, seeing as they were losing time the longer they stalled. "stay here" she told the archer firmly, already moving to crawl passed him.

"Where do you think you're going!?" he whispered irate, but was too late as she propelled herself down an opposite tunnel, yet again a blur. He turned back to gaze down at the two men, watching, taking in small details that may help him if it turned against them. Sliding his hand behind him, Clint touched the base of the folding bow and skimmed his fingers over the compact arrows that were firmly strapped down, he sighed. He heard the conversation the two men were going back and forth about, but it sounded like one of Tony's moments when he bumped into Fury when he was trying to avoid him.

The younger one probably was this Bruce Wayne character, Clint concluded in his head, seeing as he took charge of the situation while looking laid back, hands stuffed into the pants of his suite. The archer bent forward a bit, zoning in an the billionaire, _he_ was the Batman? Sure he was busy most his life, between the circus and Fury recruiting him, but he got a whiff of the comic book… it just looked so _human_ to him, that he wouldn't-

"Your butt's in the air, tweety bird" Ellie's hushed voice cackled from behind him. Clint ran his tongue behind his teeth, restraining a comeback from escaping his mouth as he turned around to give her a certain bird when he faltered. He blinked a bit owlishly, trying to process the messages his sight was sending to his brain. "Did the pussy cat finally get to you, Tweets'?"

"Bree?" Clint fumbled out, staring at the brunette in front of him. Said brunette gave him a raise of an eyebrow before shimmying forward, catching the light that was filtering in through the vent giving her hair a glimmering set. It was wet? "Did you stick your head in a pile of shit?"

Ellie promptly jerked her leg out and was satisfied hearing a small grunt and golden silence.

"It was wash-out dye" she informed him, going back to looking at the scene below them, "I recolor it every five days or so"

"I'm surprised it doesn't smell like shit, then" Clint grumbled out, holding his forehead to his hand, scowling at her, "must be a pretty shitty nest after the second day"

"Did Big Bird get his feelings hurt?" Ellie scowled back, tempted to kick him again before realizing they were wasting time, "barely anyone remembers me with brown hair, easier to get out of a crowd. Now are you ready?"

"Are _you_?" Clint snapped back as a reflex, frowning deeply but looked up when he was met with silence. Ellie was staring at nothing in front of her, her hands once again fiddling with each other in a rhythmic manner. He sighed as he took in what he said to her, "come on, Bree, just get it over with. Just like you, we'll breeze right through it"

"Right" she assured herself forcefully stilling her aching hands, "you got your phone with you?"

He gave her a look, "I don't exactly think we'll get a signal _here_"

"Same concept, pee brain" Ellie insisted holding out her hand and leaving it there until she was handed the secured mobile phone. Testing it out a few times she entered the correct information before hitting _send_. Pressing it to her ear she shook out her free hand, pursing her lips to keep her nerves in check – she was seeing her foster father after years without contact, who wouldn't be a bit jittery? There was a ringing and Ellie quickly, though carefully, shut the vents to quiet her voice from the outside.

"_Wayne Enterprises, front desk, appointment or scheduling?_" a sharp voice answered in a clipped manor, probably checking her nails.

"Can you put me through to Mr. Wayne, please?" Ellie spoke lightly, glaring when Clint stared at her in wonder, never hearing her like that before, and before the assistant could deny her, her phone call she added, "Mr. Gordon is concerned with the stunt Mr. Wayne pulled last week, I'm calling on his behalf"

It was silent for a moment before she heard a flurry of papers being moved around, "_Right, one second, I'll put you through_"

This time being met with a confused stare, Ellie shrugged and waited for her call to go through. Soon enough she heard a phone ringing from the room they were above and voices being hushed. Taking a breath to ease her erratic heart, she waited for eternity until her line clicked.

"_You just missed the meeting, I'm sorry to inform, call back tomorrow?_" Ellie almost had a heart attack but soon soothed herself hearing Lucius Fox's voice instead of Bruce's and she quickly collected herself before he could hand up.

"Mr. Fox" she pushed, clearing her throat, "put Bruce on the phone… _please_"

"_You've missed him, I'm afraid" _came the slightly delayed response, "_might I ask who's calling?_" he added no doubt wondering who would know him but not the other way around.

"Well, I've missed him for three years" Ellie responded quickly, "please, Mr. Fox, _put Bruce on the phone_". There was yet another pause, before Lucius's breathing became distant and there was a slight thud.

"_This is Bruce Wayne, what is your concern?_"

Ellie almost, honestly, had a panic attack at the deep voice that spoke through the other side of the line. Not the panic of a long-time admirer that Bruce probably had a million of, but that of a child's heart ache. She froze and she just drank in those simple words and when it became too long of a pause for normal standards Clint quickly snatched his phone away before their cover was compromised.

"Get your buddy out of the room" Clint stated, his level voice grounding Ellie to reality as she shook herself awake, staring wide eyed at Clint. Bruce Wayne didn't take commands lightly, "no security, no calls, I just want a word" he paused as he listened to the other side, putting Ellie on edge. "just get him out of the room, I don't care if he nests right outside of the room, just get him out"

There was a pause before Clint ended his call and slipped it back in his pouch, waiting a moment before opening the vent and peering out. Ellie saw Bruce throwing the wireless phone between both hands, Lucius giving him backward glances before leaving the room, the door shutting with a click, locking it from the outside – though Ellie knew Bruce had a master key on him at all times.

"Showtime" Clint breathed, ushering Ellie away from the vent before grinning, looking over to whisper with humor, "never blown my cover before"

"First time for everything?" Ellie quivered out, suddenly wanting to just face Alfred instead of Bruce – his questions would be just as blunt, but it would be less… intimidating.

"Chin up, duckling" Clint joked out before putting an arrow in between his teeth for quick access and clutching his folded up bow in one hand, collecting himself before the he transitioned to Hawkeye and kicking the vent out of place and quickly following it down, landing in a crouch with his bow now unfurled and arrow strung back to its full capacity.

"Mr. Wayne" Clint announced, notching his arrow for use, aimed for the still Billionaire.

"Afraid we haven't met" Bruce said easily leaning against one of his chairs, but Ellie knew his body was ready to evade and attack the moment Clint's hand twitched, "care to introduce yourself?"

"Just a delivery man" Clint simply answered, obviously voicing out Ellie's need to make an appearance before misunderstandings rose.

Wringing out her hands once more Ellie slipped her legs out of the hole and leapt down, landing on all fours before bouncing to stand next to Clint, shyly eyeing Bruce. He had to remember her, right?

Exhaling a shaky breath, she half-heartedly waved at the raven haired man, "Hiya there, Daddy-o". She expected Clint to scoff at her attitude, but was mildy surprised when he remained in his offensive position. She hadn't really given his Hawkeye persona much thought, it… wasn't very refreshing. What she wasn't expecting, well she was just not like _this_, was Bruce changing his stance in a split second, catching even Hawkeye momentarily off guard, to throw one of his business chairs at him to blind them.

Well, it was meant to distract Clint, but Ellie could admit that she jumped at the change of charge that she didn't see where Bruce was as he disappeared before she was shoved to her left and pushed behind a desk, a clicking sound echoing throughout the plain room.

It was times like these when Ellie realized that she had her moments when neither of her parents' genes surfaced and she was left to be a normal individual, not having enough time to react to much of anything before she was caught up in it.

"I wouldn't do that" Clint stated, already repositioned his stance and arrow true to its target, not very intimidated being met with a strangely crafted blade, though Clint was reminded never to underestimate anything in his line of duty.

"When I get done with you" Bruce graveled out, his face stone cold and eyes furious, "yes, you're going to wish I hadn't done anything"

The moment Ellie saw his shoulder blade tense; she knew she had to kick herself into gear. Even though Clint was a Superhero in his own right, passing normal expectations, Bruce was better seasoned and a hell of a lot more crafty under pressure.

"We're okay!" she yelled out, scrambling up, "right, Clint? We're okay, right?"

Clint eyed the blade warily but took Ellie's caution to heart and lowered his weapon, though not quite disarming himself. "Yeah" he hoarsely replied, "A-okay"

"Bruce?" Ellie urged, wishing he would turn around and trust her, "hey, he's a little coo-coo, but he can't help it" when she got no reply and Clint wasn't taking his guard down she tried again, softer and a bit shaky, "… you remember me, don't you? He helped me get home, he's on our side… you remember, right?"

"Hurry it up, Bree" Clint sighed, swiftly putting his arrow back with the others and slinging his bow over his head and across his shoulder, confidently making himself vulnerable as he leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Bruce?" Ellie tried again, seeing that no one was attacking, "…Dad?"

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

"_Don't move_" Bruce Wayne commanded without looking up from the collar in his hand ,mindlessly running his fingers over the details while his other hand was smoothing down Ellie's hair as she huddled close to his side. He did try to ignore the ridiculous faces she was making at the other man, but after a while he did smack her ear lightly to get her to stop before rubbing it affectionately.

Clint settled back into his seat inside the limo, fidgety about the time they had lost. He was happy for Ellie, but they could have done the reunion _when they weren't on a tight schedule_. After the initial misunderstanding the two had their little moment before he had to rudely interrupt to remind Ellie that they had instructions they had to follow. That led to another tension filled moment where he swore the billionaire would maul him before Clint carefully explained the predicament they were in and that they had to close the portals and the only way was to get his ass on the other side to solve the problem.

It took a lot of their time and now they were rushing, and Clint would love to add 'like chickens with their heads cut off' but the billionaire was letting the driver make his pace to the mansion.

"_Hey_" he called towards the front of the vehicle, glaring through the tinted glass to try to get the silhouette of the driver, "mind speeding up a bit? Places to be, you know?"

"He only listens to me" Bruce informed mildly, finally looking up from Tony's collar to stare at the archer in contemplation, "surely your friend would have taken in account how long it would take to _retrieve_ a rational human being"

"He barely takes in account how much he drinks" Clint sneered, leaning back, "I don't feel like being stuck here because we lost track of time, seriously, tell your driver to kick it up a notch"

"We just turned into driveway"

_Are you kidding me?_ Clint rubbed his forehead before turning to look out the window. He would have gawked, well maybe he did a tad, but after Tony Stark shows off all his glamour over and over, you go numb to over-priced things. The mansion was huge, dark and gloomy – similar to the city, polar opposite to Tony's cliff side house that was open to the world.

"I-I'll make it quick with Alfred" Ellie murmured, reluctantly leaving Bruce's side before she flashed out of the car, the door banging open as proof of her exit. Clint sighed and was about to follow suite before freezing at the look Bruce was giving him. It was dark and dangerous, and Clint wasn't in the mood to defend himself against a protective parental figure.

So without further ado he lunged for freedom, his upper half making it out before his leg was clutched and yanked back into the confines of the limo.

"You listen" A gruff voice spat in his ear, the back of his neck being pushed down uncomfortably, "if I find out that you so much have touched a hair on her body, I'll be sure you don't see light for days" an additional shove that send Clint's face further into the carpet of the vehicle pushed his threat across, "_am I clear_?"

"Crystal" Clint muttered, already planning to let Ellie have an earful for leaving him alone, "_get off_"

Bruce's hand twitched before he let go, watching as Clint jerked out of the limo and calmly dusted himself off. A glance at his wrist watched got Bruce out of the vehicle and saunter up the steps towards the front door, Clint reluctantly trailing behind, keeping a safe distance. Entering the big estate, Clint sighed. Couldn't these people give _him_ some money to lavish out his apartment?

"Alfred's waiting for you in the Batcave" Ellie appeared at the bottom of the stairs, gently laying an over packed suitcase down beside her along with a stuffed backpack, sporting red eyes and wet cheeks. She sniffed, wiping the back of her hand under her nose to try to compose herself, bouncing on the heels of her feet, "I packed clothes and all, Alfred said he'd help with the rest"

"You're going to be coming home and staying, Ell" Bruce sighed walking up to kiss her on the cheek before turning towards Clint, towering over Ellie's smaller form, "I'll meet with you two once I'm done, ten minutes". With one last look towards Ellie he started up the stairs.

Tugging the two packs to her person once again she walked to an opposite hallway, waving Clint to follow her down the pathway before they made it out the back door to the courtyard. Inhaling the fresh air that was away from the city, she sat down on set of steps that led to the fountain in front of it, getting teary eyed all over again at the mere thought of Alfred and the happiness in his eyes when he saw her.

Of course he understood when she said she had to finish some things before she could stay, that was in his nature, understanding and thoughtful. It just felt like betrayal on Ellie's part, he always took care of her, even when she was old enough to experience Gotham city for herself, it felt like she was taking his caring nature for granted, expecting him to welcome her with open arms after she was leaving him for the second time now.

"Finally some light" Clint's voice broke through her mental battle with herself, seeing him squat down next to her and take in the light reflecting off of the water of the fountain and the distant maze that could be seen over the hill, "you grew up here?"

Clearing her throat she nodded while answering, "yes, the best years of my life"

"You moved out?" Clint asked transferring himself to sit cross legged and leaned back on his hands, "couldn't imagine why" well he could, he tended to get cabin fever quickly and training only took his mind off of things for so long – he was lucky that Ellie had been reclusive and voluntarily stayed put wherever Fury put her so that he could go on missions whenever he was needed. But this place was huge and he was sure if Ellie asked it, they would make it happen.

"I wouldn't say moved out.." Ellie murmured, glad to get her mind out of the present enough to compose herself, now that she was sure she was going to be able to go home _and_ solve this problem she created, she threw out her earlier promises and spilled more of her life to him, "I went looking for my mom, traveling and not really staying in one place" she shrugged, playing with her hands, "it felt like I circled the world three times over before I returned here, I couldn't find her but I got a lead on a project that she would have been interested in and played with the odds of finding her"

"Did you?" Clint asked, a bit curious seeing as it was mentioned in her files that both her biological parents weren't, per say, _normal_.

"…I want to say I did" Ellie admitted, frowning, "I hadn't seen her since I was an infant, and Bruce only had blurry pictures of her, but she fit the description I was given, even caught her pick pocketing the mayor" she laughed at that, the memory teasing her memory.

"How did you know where she'd be?" he backtracked her information.

"Well…" her hands started fiddling with nothing in particular, "it had _expensive_ labeled on it, nice sized jewelry and a mystery surprise"

"So she was into jewelry and.. surprises?"

"She crashes parties by stealing the surprises" Ellie admitted with a wry smile on her face, "though this one didn't go in her favor, or mine for that matter"

"What happened?" was the expected response; though Clint seemed a bit distracted as some strange look birds flew off in the distance.

"Curiosity was said to kill a cat" Ellie mumbled following his line of sight, "instead it blasted me into a different dimension"

His head snapped in her direction, attention on her as his eyes narrowed, "wait, _that's_ how-"

"Is it about time to head out?" they both looked up to see Bruce stepping down to them with an extra duffle bag across his shoulder, looking down at the two of them expectantly. A shuffle of a figure behind him drew their eyes to an elderly man in a clean suit coming to stand next to the billionaire.

"Miss Ellie-" Alfred spoke heartedly but was cut off when Ellie zipped in front of him and hugged his middle with enthusiasm. He chuckled softly, hugging her back with a rocking motion, "I was hoping to bid you a safe journey, unlike last time"

"You can bid whatever you want, Alfred" Ellie murmured hugging him tighter and resting her forehead against his collar bone. She was going to miss him all over again, heck she was going to cry all over him again. Her lower lip started trembling as emotions rose, some tears escaping, "I-I'm sorry"

"Nothing to apologize for, my dear, the world needs you" his eyes crinkled with many lines, shining, "_both worlds_" he tugged on her long braid before rubbing her back contentedly, "a responsibility has been given to you and I'm proud of you for accepting it for the better good"

"I just want to stay" Ellie whispered for only him to hear, "help you and Bruce again, like old times"

"I will be here when you return" Alfred assured, smiling, "and so will all the mishaps that Master Bruce gets tangled up in"

"Don't get me in trouble over there" Bruce called over his shoulder when he heard his name being mentioned, breaking his staring contest with Clint, "don't listen to a word he says, Ell"

Clint watched as Ellie erupted in a series of giggles, the butler adding in with deep chuckles while stepping away from her grasp to wipe at her cheeks, patting them when he finished the action. Looking away he glanced back at his watch, standing quickly when he noticed the dwindling numbers.

"Sorry gang, times up" he announced taking the backpack to his shoulder and toeing the suitcase towards Ellie, "round 'em up"

"I love you, Alfred" Ellie whispered smoothing out some wrinkles on his suit that she had made, "don't do anything that I would do".

"I'll leave that to you, Dear" he chuckled batting away her hands to give them a squeeze, "not go on, I'll be waiting up"

"Stay safe" she replied slowly removing herself from him and going over to Clint, avoiding eye contact as Bruce went to say a few more words with Alfred before clapping him on the shoulder and making his way over to them.

"Should I know anything before we take off?" he asked slipping on the metal collar and adjusting his duffle bag.

"Ignore Tony" Ellie informed rolling her puffy eyes, "he's the one who designed these" she tugged at her own collar.

"Steer clear of stressed Doctors" Clint added with humor, ignoring Ellie's warning look and grinning to himself, "one in particular and if you can't steer clear, hide behind Bree"

Heat rose in Ellie's cheeks as she was tempted to kick at his shin, "I disagree, it would be more productive if you hid behind Agent Barton here, he'll throw some of his spoiled eggs as a distraction"

Clint gave her a blank stare, grin dropping, and in a mild tone said, "Caw, caw, mother-"

"-and if Steve looks confused, help him, he'll be more lost than you at times" Ellie cut in, grasping at Bruce's hand after hearing Clint's watch beep in warning and with the other she grasped the suitcase.

Stepping closer to the pair, Clint adjusted his collar while professionally saying, "don't forget to ask him what your daughter was doing creeping out of the good ole' doctor's room at five in the morning"

Ellie's jaw dropped in indignation, ears burning and eyes glued to Clint- not daring to look up at Bruce and not having to as there was yet another beep and blue energy seemed to create a type of tycoon around them, picking their feet off the ground and enclosing their bodies into a blue abyss of energy.

The newly brunette's stomach dropped in trepidation of another drop, and was about to let go of the suitcase when arms engulfed her and took the case away from her. She cautiously looked up to see Bruce observing their strange surroundings, eyes darting left and right keeping his arms as steel bands around her form. Clint clasped a hand on her shoulder as he stood next to them, looking equally as expectant of danger as Bruce as he touched his bow thoughtfully.

"Was this supposed to happen?" Ellie's voice echoed strangely, a bit distorted at the end.

"Stark and Banner better be doing their jobs" Clint mused out loud, "it's the same energy as the rifts, I'm betting"

"It's the same as the shard" Bruce informed to Ellie, having done countless tests on the source of their problem at hand.

Ellie blinked in shock, "how'd you get your hands on it? I thought mom would've smuggled it away the moment things cleared"

"She did" Bruce's voice sounded clearer as the energy buzzed around them and he noticed the shocked look in her eyes, choosing to ignore Clint's curious ones, "you don't think she'd recognize her own daughter?" he smiled at the thought, "you don't think she'd be keeping tabs on you throughout your life?"

"She gave me away" Ellie stated, biting her lip as her hands twitched.

"She gave you a clean slate" Bruce rubbed her back as Alfred did earlier, "she loves you, the moment she realized the shard took you away she was at my doorstep, claws out and hissing while waving it around like a crazed woman"

"Really?" she asked hopefully, her inner child yearning for her mother's love and attention.

"You'll always be her kitten" he assured with a crooked smile, hugging her a bit as their bodies seemed to grow back their weight and gravity began to reappear.

* * *

**Had to complete this in one chapter, or else Ellie would have probably stayed put. Questions, question away. I'm starting to get ideas for the next story, mix some Greek with the Norse, what do you think?**


	8. Grounded

**Chapter 8. Grounded**

"_Shit!_" A scream ripped out of her throat at the sudden death spin they were forced into at the switch of gravity. The force was enough to rip her from Bruce's grasp as he too was caught off guard, wind blinding and pushing as it flew by them. Ellie twisted her body to make the wind charge at her back so she could see what was going on, squinting as her eyes watered, searching for her companions.

She almost shouted out in victory when she saw Tony's Ironman suit rocket towards them, snagging Clint quickly around the belt before clipping sharply down to where Ellie noticed Bruce was shooting down. With a power boost in his boosters he plucked the other billionaire out of the air, spinning to keep his balance at the sudden addition of weight and loss of his hand boosters.

It was about that time when she noticed that she had fallen passed their level and no one had gotten her. Refusing to look at the quickly approaching surface she knew was there, she closed her eyes and held in the food she had eaten that morning. _Someone always gets you_ she assured herself, clenching her eyes shut, _it's just the matter of when they get you_.

There was a sound of thunder and a crack of lightning before she was shooting up in the air, her body folding at the force that the arm around her middle put on her while fighting against gravity. Her breath flew out of her mouth with an _oomph_ while blindly clinging to the weird feeling arm. Chancing a look, she was met with a red cape – but the blond hair billowing after it erased the idea that it was magically Clark.

"Lady Ellie!" A booming voice jerked her head to the side to see the face of her driver to see a gruff, yet handsome, man smiling brightly down at her, and passed his face, as Ellie could see as she strained her head further back, she could see his hand gripping a strap that was connected to a-… hammer? Blinking in confusion she focused back on the man.

"Uh-" she fumbled with her words, still recovering from her stomach twisting in knots, and trying to once again place his face, and she speedily went through all the faces she saw in folders, "Odin…son?"

"Pleasure!" he laughed out facing forward while Ellie turned her head to his back to rest her aching neck, "I am Thor, the Man of Iron had requested I be of assistance, I had not expected his company to fall out of the sky, though!"

"I wish we hadn't" she muttered under her breath before focusing on keeping her grip on his bulging arm that was covered in some sort of chainmail, "it's nice to finally meet you!" she yelled back over the screeching wind, and it was true. Now that she had a name, she connected it with gossip, the God of Thunder and his brute strength.

"As with you" he stated, and she could hear the smile in his voice, "Man of Iron and Dr. Banner have filled me in about you, you sound most amusing!"

"Really, now?" she snorted at the thought of what Tony would've said about her and a small part of her hoped Bruce was there to defend her, "all good I hope!"

"Of course, Lady Ellie!" he stated gleefully as he angled them down towards the landing pad of the helicarrier, "brace yourself!"

"With what?!" Ellie questioned as she bent further over his arm and tensed herself for whatever landing he pulled. He lurched back from his forward position, letting his hammer weigh them down with gravity. _Not again_ she mentally groaned as her stomach dropped along with them. The impact was solid and snapped her head forward.

"Friends!" Thor called out as he took a few steps to slow himself down safetly, carefully cradling the stiff woman on his arm, "I have delivered Lady Ellie!" He smiled at the small group that awaited him, Tony just slapping the new man in the shoulder – still in his armor, which was sure to hurt. The new man looked ruffled, suit crinkled and hair looking tangle, Clint had already straightened himself out, hair too short to really look any different.

"Swing her over!" Tony's metal voice barked over, clapping his hands together and opening his arms as if preparing to catch the subject of his request. Of course he wasn't really expecting to, so when Thor paused to consider the mass on his arm he had to quickly correct himself, "it's a _joke_, don't really throw her, you numbskull"

Bruce Wayne considered the red and gold armored man beside him, inspecting the edges and gaps, looking for a weak spot as a precaution if things went bad. The suit was high tech and allowed considerable mobility, as well as operating on a stable amount of energy. The soles of both feet and hands both had boosters, most likely used for offensive actions as well. Looking back over to the mountain supporting Ellie, he eyed the weapon hanging casually by his wrist.

My_ skull is numb_ Elli thought as she straightened herself out and let her feet touch the ground hesitantly, wobbly as her blood rushed out of her head and her hand finding her back, the dull ache from the other night flaring up. Her vision swam a moment before rapid blinking put focus back into them, and the first thing she saw was a red head a bit too close to Clint. Blinking again she looked somewhere else, focusing on an out of place Bruce- _err, they both look out of place._

Bruce Wayne looked overly weary and Bruce Banner stood awkwardly in the back with his hands stuck in his pockets.

"Let's go" she muttered to Thor who was still mulling over what Tony called him, and tugged his arm to get him to move towards the group. Of course, the goal was to introduce her Bruce to everyone so she wouldn't feel guilty leaving him alone to talk to the other Bruce- that was until Fury barked out over the intercom for them to meet in the conference room. Hesitating, she allowed Thor to take over the lead, clasping her hand in her father's as she passed by, deafly swinging it.

"Can we trust them?" he whispered, hefting the duffle bag higher on his shoulder, taking in the floating fortress. He expected this, weariness and perplexity, just not housing with a government agency- where apparently everyone knew his alias, that in itself didn't sit well.

"Everyone not wearing a uniform" she informed, sparing Clint and the red head a glance. Looking forward she smiled happily when she saw the other Bruce waiting beside the door, cracking a small smile at the sight of hers. "But I want you to meet someone, he you can trust" eagerly she treaded forward, eyes set on the shy man.

"Ellie" the doctor welcomed, sticking his hands in his pockets as he turned his attention to the dark haired man beside her, standing broodingly over her, almost glaring at everything he passed. Tempted to fix his glasses and fumble with his hands as a nervous habit, he freed one of his hands and stuck it out in offering, "Bruce Banner, Mr. Wayne"

A dark eyebrow raised as he eyed the man offering his hand, looking down at Ellie for a second, "Bruce, hu?" he gripped the hand in his own, a short, stiff shake ensued.

"Small world" was the offered reply, "I, uh, already told everyone to address me as Doctor, so you have the, uh, honor of your namesake"

"That's no fun" Ellie butted in the awkward meeting, though in reality she was glad that it their similar names wouldn't be an issue while in the same room, "anywho, as you already know this is Doctor Bruce Banner, any trouble, go to him – better than Tony, wouldn't you say _Doctor_?"

"Definitely" Bruce chuckled awkwardly, sparing a glance at the approaching Ironman, "speaking of which, we should hurry along"

"Run along, kiddies" Tony's voice came through in a metallic manner, fiddling with his wrist as he stopped beside them, the center of his suit blaring with power before it all started folding away, centering towards his chest, revealing a straight suit and soon a red and gold suitcase. Adjusting his bow tie with one hand he continued, "How do I look? Dashing I hope"

Ellie huffed as she tossed his collar back to him, "I'd like you to meet my Dad, Bruce Wayne" she held up her hand that was clasped in said father's, "Dad, _this_ is Tony Stark, Ironman"

"We've been briefly acquainted" Tony quipped with a punch to Wayne's shoulder but snapped back when his wrist was almost broken with a deft twist of the other's hand, "feisty" he paused, "I like it".

Ellie sighed and looked up when she felt a pat on her shoulder, quirking a smile as she saw it was her favorite Doctor. A crooked smile and a wink was returned.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKB REAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

"Avengers" Furry called as he strode into the office, looking at each one in turn, "and guests" he added as afterthought. Ellie was sitting in between Bruce, the doctor, and Tony – she had tried to take a seat next to her father but Tony had tipped her into the chair next to him, making both Bruces sit next to each other.

"It has come to our attention that a.." Ellie toned him out as the Director rambled about on information that she already knew or didn't concern her. She played with her hands to pass time, stealing glances at her father to make sure he was okay- even though he could probably handle himself better than she had, he was concentrating on what the director was telling him and piecing together his own details that he collected over the years. Looking opposite, she eyed Clint who was ever the efficient agent, back straight, eyes hard.

_Typical, no fun at all._

Though, opposite of him, next to her was Tony, bored and mimicking Fury behind her back but in clear view of Clint and Thor- Bruce, either one, if they leaned back. Clearly making use of his time. Ellie glanced at Bruce, to her side, and almost blanched at his dozing form, blinking in astonishment. She stopped herself from waking him up as she took a closer look at him, he seemed tired, more exhausted than she thought, deep lines finally relaxing in his state.

Surely he wouldn't get in trouble, he already knew his part in this and Tony probably filled him in on things he wouldn't want to know.

Glancing to make sure she wasn't in the center of anyone's attention, she delicately touched his forearm that was resting on her chair's arm. She felt the familiar pull, leaning back to rest her head against the chair with her hand placed on his rough arm.

_Shaking her head to get the hair out of her face, she squinted against the harsh winds to find she was on the platform of the helicarrier, no one around._

"_Hello!"_ _she called out, one hand on her head to keep her hair intact, turning around in a circle to try and catch sight of the doctor. Turning around once more she felt a sense of déjà vu when she couldn't find anyone. "Come on, Bruce!"_

_Suddenly the whole carrier shook, jerking to the side and smoke billowing out of one of the engines. Even if it was a dream state, Ellie wasn't sure what would happen if she were to die in this – just wake up or serious repercussions? She crouched on and gained leverage, racing towards the nearest entrance, waving her arms once or twice as the grouched shook and lurched against her motion. Flinging the door open she was tempted to brace herself on the wall for a moment but instead was bracing herself against oncoming traffic of bodies, flinching as they fazed right through her._

"_That's new_" _usually people in dream states were real, seeing as the dreamer made them real, even being an animal. Maybe Bruce wasn't here when this happened and was just rerunning scenes that others put in his head? Or knocked out from the blast to the engines and woke up later to make his surroundings concrete? Ellie continued trying to figure her state as she jogged through the familiar hallways, flinching every time agents barreled through her._

"_Clint?" she asked shocked as she saw him taking down agents left and right, a strange blue light in his eyes and bland expression on his face. Forgetting about Bruce for a moment she followed him about, heart rate picking up in anticipation the closer he maneuvered to the control center- but faltered when she heard an unmistakable roar and stumbled when she was pushed aside from a suddenly solid body._

_Wringing out her hands quickly she high tailed towards the animalistic noise, jumping over fallen bodies and turning sharp corners and sliding down a staircase before came to a stumbling halt._

_The red head from before was dashing straight for her and The Hulk was barreling right behind her._

"_Ah shit" Ellie hummed wide eyed, not sure if the other guy counted as Bruce's conscience and would react to her presence unlike everyone else. "Uh, hey!" when they still came closer and closer she began to panic, not wanting to test out how her physical body would react to mental trauma, "_Hey_" still nothing, "__**HEY!**__"_

_A split second before they slammed dunked her into any crates she used her speed to propel her to a pipe above, barely getting a grip before screaming, "_**HULK!**"

_The big guy falter as his victim speed ahead, oblivious to the change of outcome. Looking up, his blind rage dissolved seeing a familiar face, muscles twitching as he tilted his head. Arms stretched out as his hands gathered her up, letting her sit on them like a chair. _

"_El-ee?" He questioned bringing her closer to his face, nose skimming her chin making her giggle. Green eyes shinned curiously._

"_Miss me?" she asked experimentally skimming a hand along his chin, grinning when he rested his whole head against her in content, "what happened here, buddy?"_

"_Bruce hurt" he rumbled, falling backwards to sit on the ground, having Ellie clutch at him to stay put, arms grasping around his fuzzy head, "Hulk help"_

"_Is Bruce okay?" Ellie asked, frowning in concern. Of course he was, but he was reliving this, the emotions were still there. "Are you okay?"_

_He snorted, pulling back to stubbornly stare back at her, puffing out, "Bruce hurt, Hulk strong"_

"_I know" she amended, flicking his ear lobe playfully, "very strong, stronger than me"_

"_Ellie fast" he added, blinking at her, "Ellie talk to Hulk", a sudden intelligence entered his eyes, the green browning around the edges, "How?" he voice altered between the two personalities._

"_I'm not just fast" she lowered her voice, pursing her lips and decided a little clarity between her and him wouldn't hurt, "is Bruce here?"_

"_I'm here" Hulk still held her up, but his voice altered further towards Bruce's and his eyes swirled with a tint of brown in them._

"_My mum loved cats" Ellie condensed, "cats loved her, so much they saved her life" she paused, tilting her head to look over his face, "brought her back to life- on a conscious level they connected, so it wasn't a surprise when I came out, I had an affinity with animals" she waited for him to speak but after a pregnant pause she asked, "do you understand?"_

"_Not animal" his voice teetered back and forth on octaves, green batting away at the brown of his eyes._

"_No, you're not" she soothed, not wanting to work up the tension between the bound personalities, "you are a gift to everyone, but on a primal level _everyone_ has animalistic tendencies, and I sometimes tap into that human side"_

"_Not only Hulk?" he questioned almost hurt, but he had slackened down a bit in stature._

"_I only did it with cats, maybe the occasional rat" Ellie conceded with a twinkle in her eye, remembering the rat Calvary she sent after Clint, after he had shot her with his tranq arrow, "you're the only person, scout's honor"_

_His smile was worth the years of unquenched curiosity that she went through holding back from experimenting, the glee he radiated._

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

Steve glanced worriedly at Ellie, as her face seemed to pale, eyes shifting restlessly under her lids. She was usually bright, even seeing her for a day he got the hint that she wasn't one to sit around for a long time, more alive. It wouldn't have bothered him if it wasn't for the persons next to her to compare to. Bruce Banner snoozed soundly, color bright on his skin, face calm and eyes at rest behind his glass. Tony on her other side- Steve had to withhold a shiver- was leaning against Ellie's chair with his eyes halfway open, sleeping as well, his enhanced hearing picking up his slight snores. He too had warmth under his skin, eyes staring into nothing.

As Fury was still in a debate with Mr. Wayne and Natasha, Thor had too turned towards him.

"Are our friends well?" he questioned the soldier, brows furrowed at the grouped three.

"I'm…" Steve thought about it, still concerned over Ellie's state, "not sure"

"Friends?" Thor called out softly, not budging them an inch, "Friend Ellie? Man of Iron? Friend Banner?" he even started to reach out to shake one of them awake when Tony twitched, blinking rapidly awake to stare at the hand in front of his face.

"How…" Steve trailed off, scowling.

"I am the Spectre!" he moaned in a ghostly voice, "I see all!"

A loud bang on the table had everyone jumping to attention, Ellie jerking forward, Banner jerking back and Tony burped in surprise. They all turned towards Bruce Wayne who stared coldly at Stark who waved back with a sly grin.

"I wouldn't play like that, Mr. Stark" he ground out, his voice scratching, "now that these worlds have an open door to each other, it wouldn't be wise to insult Vengeance so out rightly"

"You buds with Vengeance?" Tony came back, rubbing his hands together, "maybe you can cut me a deal? You know, kick Hammer around a bit and in return bring back good Ole Daddy-o? That'd be pain enough for me"

Steve bristled at the mention of Howard in such a negative manner but Wayne interrupted his comeback, "He kills, Mr. Stark, not cutting deals, and the dead don't lie as still as you think, careful what you wish for"

"Well, good Ole Howey wasn't careful about it when he knocked up his Best friend's girl's daughter, now was he?"

"**That's it!**" Steve exploded and lunged at the billionaire in front of him, spurring everyone else into action.

* * *

**Well. Kicked myself out of the house for a few hours to visit the local comic store. Three good posters later and 4 issues/rounds of Avengers v. X-Men later, got the urge to write. Questions, question away.**


	9. Intentions

**Chapter 9. Intentions**

"Shhh, shhh" Ellie chanted to a quivering Bruce Banner whose back was being hugged to her chest, both on the floor, as she rocked them back and forth. His skin still had a green tent to it, veins bulging out but at least he stopped groaning. She ran her hand through his sweat soaked hair soothingly, whispering comforts in his ear when one of his limbs constricted under contorting muscle and bone mass. His shirt was ripped in multiple seems, a tear down his pant leg, and a table embedded into the adjacent wall, nothing drastic but could escalade if things weren't taken care of.

"After this we'll go out somewhere nice and quiet, no fights-guaranteed, I promise" she whispered, rubbing as the stubble on his chin, bending her body further over his own to shield from prying eyes as stray agents were picking up the mess they all made, keeping a wide birth between them and the rocking couple. Tony had gone to the clinic to check his arm, Steve had been escorted to a different room by Thor, and Clint, Natasha- the redhead, she learned- and her father had left with Fury to his office. Ellie sighed as she remember her Father's argument about dragging her with him-

"_Ellie __**now**__" Bruce seethed, edging closer to the birth the quivering, contorting, green man had created with his outburst, where his daughter sat holding onto him, putting her life in danger, "I want you to get up and come with me, do I need to drag-"_

"_**NO**__!" nearly everyone screamed as the doctor howled, even stray agents joined in the disagreement. Bruce snarled at all of them, and Tony, the one that started this whole mess, spoke up, "That wouldn't be wise, she's saving our asses right now-especially 'Caps, but that wouldn't-"_

"_We don't stress the doctor out" Clint spoke up, wiping his nose, "I'd hoped you all would have remembered that" he then looked at the dark billionaire, "our conversation earlier?"_

"_Not when my daughter is in the line of fire" Bruce stated, glaring at everyone. The once shy doctor had thrown the long table into a wall all across the room, landing a blind punch on Thor who had crashed into Clint, and started _transforming_. Why couldn't they understand he wanted her away from that when she herself wouldn't remove herself- she took a hit for Tony, it was lucky the soldier hadn't broken her jaw!_

"_Believe me" Tony muttered, rolling his shoulder, "she's safer on his side"_

"A little trip to the library, maybe?" she offered, her hair free of its tight braid and curtaining them in lazy curls. She caught his brown eyes, going back to stroking his hair when she found pain and fear. "Hey, it's alright, everyone's fine" she whispered kissing his temple, "you're fine, I'm fine, it's all fine"

Knotting her fingers in his hair she closed her eyes to let her mind pull to his, shuddering at the conflicting tides she found, never before trying her inheritance on conscious beings. She pushed to find the Hulk, the presence that stabled her into Bruce's mentality, and then she repeated her actions to him, reassuring and comforting him. Soon she only felt calm and let herself back to reality, her fingers rubbing his scalp and bruised face resting on his shoulder.

"Bruce?" she asked softly, leaning to the side to get a look at his face only to find he had calmed down so much he fell asleep. Smiling slightly she leaned back against the wall and hefted his body a bit higher so that she could rest her head against the back of his shoulder and stay warm around the cold atmosphere of the carrier. They weren't going anywhere with agents milling around and offering no help- help that the others even declined offering, and it made Ellie a bit mad. They were his teammates, they should trust him, not fear him, and if it wasn't for Tony leaving a pile of neatly piled clothes for Bruce next to them and a water bottle for her, she would have given them all a mouth full and let Hulk throw them around.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

Everyone was split. Clint and Natasha stuck with Fury, Steve and Thor by the watch tower, and Tony and Bruce in the lab. Ellie was headed towards Bruce, as her Father had locked himself in her room after a long talk with her, her laptop having all the information he needed to stay there for a couple hours. She had avoided confronting Steve; at least until her bruising went down, she didn't feel like making him feel worse than he already was.

"Ms. Wayne?"

Ellie hesitated in her steady steps, debating whether to respond or keep moving- all her time here and no one bothered to remember her name? Okay, granted she didn't wear her uniform with a nametag, but that was beside the point. No one talked to her but birdbrains, the occasional Agent Hill and Furry talk here and there. Sighing she turned around and glared at the stray agent, "its Pennyworth, to you"

He blinked, a bit stumped, but continued, "Director Fury wants you escorted to the clinic as soon as possible"

"I'm already headed to the doctor" Ellie informed turning back to her destination.

"It's the other way!" She ignored the shout, turning a corner and walking the length of the hallway to the lab, peering in before she entered. They were hunkered over a computer screen, talking- with Tony chewing on those disgusting dried blueberries that the kitchen provided.

She knocked, waving when they both glanced up at her. She stepped in when they waved back, brushing away her freshly braided hair and she stuffed her hands in the familiar red and yellow sweater, "wasn't interrupting anything, I hope"

Bruce blushed, casually off-lining the screen in front of them as Tony grinned, his sleeve pulled up to reveal his whole left arm bandaged.

"We were just talking about you, sweet cheeks" Tony greeted throwing her the left over blueberry bag, "hey, you were at that fancy, special, institute right? Before the pirate sailed away with you"

"Yeah" she answered stealing his chair and swinging it on the other side of Bruce, sitting down with a spin, "hope I didn't embarrass you too bad" she spoke to the doctor who was in his new clothes and quickly turning a shade of red.

"No, ah.." he cleared his throat, pointedly ignoring Tony's smirk, "thank you for that, sorry if I made you uncomfortable"

"Pish Posh" Ellie grinned, nudging his shoulder as she handed him the untouched bag of dried fruit, "Like I said, I want to be your friend- friends don't ditch friends"

His eyes widened, realization dawning, as well as relief, "you really… you really were there, I'm not… crazy"

"That's debatable" Tony squished the moment, "as I was saying, the institute?"

"Yes" she rolled her shoulders, "they found me, took me in… wasn't too fond of S.H.I.E.L.D crashing in"

"How'd they find you?"

Her face twisted, "I still ask myself that sometimes, no one can really get into my head so psychics out of the question… maybe someone caught wind of me the first few days? I was out of it when I found out I was lost, sped through every town, looking and looking…" she shook her head, "I wanted peace and quiet, went to a museum and Petre found me, offered a safe place… and-" she waved her hand in the air for emphasis.

"Anything off about the bunch?" Tony pressed.

"Besides being fellow mutants? No" Ellie was confused, S.H.I.E.L.D generally stayed out of the institute's problems, though she called once in a while to the few that knew of her- a handful really, "if you need information, go to Fury"

"Just curious, chill" he assured rubbing his cheek thoughtfully, snatching back his snack, "you want my feedback?"

"Sure" she looked at Bruce, curious where this was going, but he shrugged, as lost as her.

"Just tell me one thing, no details, just a blunt answer is good" when she nodded he asked, "How much did they know about your situation after, say, two days?"

"Why?" Ellie was tempted to smirk at his twitch of eye as she continued.

"First day, they comfort you, no question, let you settle" he stated, "second day, they introduce you to others maybe a tour with off handed questions – how much did they know those two days that you _didn't _say?"

Ellie stilled, hands freezing from their motions and her eyes went distant. Bruce glanced up at Tony, who just offered him more blueberries. They waited, Bruce taking off his glasses to fiddle with and Tony popping more dried berries in his mouth, staring at the building tension around Ellie's form.

"Phone" Bruce jumped at Ellie's voice, fumbling with his pockets only to forget he never had any use for them and generally stayed in the Stark Tower, Jarvis answering calls if they were for him. Tony tossed her his, a slick piece of glass that Ellie stared at with a pause before testing out some functions before getting the hang of it and dialing a number. Pressing it to her ear she was about to jump out of her seat but Bruce placed a hand on her shoulder and went to the freezer in the corner, using some clean cylinders to place ice cubes in. As the ringing continued, Ellie quickly redialed before she could even hear the answering machine and flinched when Bruce prodded her bruised cheek and jawline, glad when he pressed the ice filled tube to the area.

Redialing one more time, she waited for eternity, getting fidgety in her seat.

"_Hello?_" A thick accented voice mumbled into the phone, followed by a yawn, "_this better not be you Bobby, it's not funny anymore"_

"Give the phone to Hank, Petre, it's urgent" she placed the phone on the counter and put it on speaker to hold the cold glass to her face, sparing Tony a glance when he grinned gleefully being able to listen in.

"_Ellie?_" his voice cleared up significantly and she heard something fall as clothes were shuffled, "_haven't heard from you in a while, are you okay? Hang on, long night, heading to Dr. McCoy right now_" a door clicked across the line as emphasis.

"I'm fine, Pete" Ellie said off handedly, squishing the cylinder against her now throbbing cheek to numb it quicker, "I hope they're not giving you a hard time on the team"

"_I pull through, some nights are better than others"_ he continued, pausing as a crowd of voices blared through, probably the students getting let out of class, Petre's name being called out in greeting once or twice, "_a world without violence is what I strive for"_

"Tell that to Logan"

"_Right_" he chuckled, noises leveling down as another door closed, "_next time, call for a chat? Wilson's been making appearances lately and has mentioned you. Talk to you"_

"Same" Ellie breathed, huffing when Bruce made her take off some pressure from her cheek, "take care, Petre"

There was a shuffle and a deep, gruff voice answered, _"I see we haven't been forgotten, Miss Pennyworth"_

"Why did you do tests on me?" Tony's demeanor changed in an instant, face going stone cold, "don't give me shit about trying to get me back home – I was confused, you took advantage of that, why would you do all those things just for that? _What didn't you tell me?_"

"_Ellie, we were taking precautions-" _ Hank sighed on the other end, "_one of our students, just a young boy, acted up the same time you arrived, he lead us straight to you – he's been in a coma on and off-_"

"So I was your lab experiment? You didn't take me out of the good of your heart, like all the others over there? You _spied _on me! How long, hu? The day I arrived? Because some things seemed a bit too convenient, now that I look at it, was it Kurt?" her voice rose with each sentence, jumping out of her seat and pacing, "at least Fury kept his hands off of me, admitted he couldn't get me home, and I didn't like him nearly as much as I liked all of you!"

"_Maybe you should come down, the Professor could surely-_"

"Don't bother" Ellie snapped, biting her thumb nail angrily, "I hope the boy got something out of my discomfort"

"End call" Tony commanded of his phone, the monotone voice of Jarvis informing him the action was dealt out. He put down his packet of finished berries, looking over the tense woman and spoke, "Fury know about this?"

"How do you think he got me to leave?" Ellie mumbled rubbing her eyes, plucking the cold cylinder back to her cheek, "he promised he only wanted to help, Clint offered to look after me, I could leave whenever I wanted to"

"You believed him?"

"He's kept his promise" Ellie stated, letting Bruce lead her back to her seat, rubbing her shoulder, "…how did you know about this?" she looked up at Tony who still looked out of place.

"The institute information was edited a couple days ago" Tony stated, popping the screen online, Bruce quickly standing in Ellie's view so she couldn't see it. If she hadn't been upset she would've zipped over to Tony's other side to see what was up with that screen, but she just stared up at him, suddenly tired from the day's events. He hesitated, looked back before murmuring that he'd be right back. "I think Fury was on to baldy's interference from the beginning and is just now bringing it all in together"

When he swung the screen around for her to see, Ellie leaned forward to read the information. A little boy was mentioned, though not much was said about it other than being on house arrest and medical attention was needed time to time. Pushing the guilt aside, she read on, noting energy interests and agent reports. Dates caught her attention, one being the day she dropped here, another being around the time she got sick, a mission that had Clint missing for two weeks, the day Clark arrived, and today's date had two times- when they left in the morning to when they came back soon after- and they were from Hank's database. They knew all this and didn't bother telling her? After everything she was willing to give to them for supposedly _helping_ her?

They thought they can keep this from her when she was part of the equation?

Tears welled up out of nowhere, maybe she should've stayed when she had the chance, they seemed to have all they needed _here_ without stretching her thin.

"Woh, woh, woh!" Tony busted out patting her cheek repeatedly, "no water works here, you were doing just fine on your own without them, okay, all these superhero agencies are dick-wods, it just comes with the name, no need to give them the benefit of getting to you, you hear?"

Her lips trembled, twitching downwards as her throat constricted.

"I don't do this, really" Tony continued, normally girls cried because of him or for him and it was quickly remedied by buying them something expensive, not _this_. Swinging his head around when he heard the door open, he was never more relived to see the doctor than he was now, "_Brucie_! Thank Thor's daddy, do something, she's about to explode!"

"Ellie?" Bruce quickened his pace to her side, placing warm hands on her shoulders to get her to look at him, her bruise making her look even more vulnerable, "hey, it's going to be alright, you know that" he threw the blanket he had left to get around her shoulders, tucking it in snuggly. "Want to get some tea with me? Hot chocolate, it'll make you feel better – to step back from the problem". A moment's of hesitation provided a shaky nod in which he slipped an arm around her waist and led her past Tony.

He watched them leave with a small smirk, but once they were out of sight it dropped and a stony look took over. He looked back at the computer screen, eyes narrowing.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

"I've never gotten it" Ellie murmured, stirring her tea around her cup aimlessly, "The people we see as being so good, can do the worst of things"

"Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions" Bruce recited, plucking the spoon from her fingers and guiding her hands to rest around the mug, "maybe you should hear them out"

"They had all the time to talk" Ellie sniffed, bringing the cup up to sip from it, "they should have just told me, this could have been avoided… I could already been home"

"Hey" he smiled softly, nudging her with his elbow, "then we wouldn't have met". She smiled a bit, leaning against him in a sort of apology, though didn't move afterwards actually resting her head on his shoulder. His heart stuttered a bit, the familiar presence in the back of his head stirring. Taking a breath, he rubbed at the stray strands that escaped from her braid, "maybe they were going to tell you but didn't know what they were dealing with enough to try to give out conclusions to their actions"

"That would be the sensible answer" she muttered, pushing the cup away, "but right now I don't want to be that, I want to stomp my feet and blame them for everything"

"Pride is a strange thing" he told, letting his hand still and rest on her head, "go and talk to them, it might clear some things up so you can work together"

Ellie stayed quiet, letting the words soak in.

"I still don't want to talk to them" she let out, "but… we don't always get what we want. You're right"

"I would hope so. Didn't get my title for nothing" Bruce chuckled, taking her cup of tea and drinking the rest of it for himself, "you think you could convince Fury?"

"Doesn't need to" Tony's voice came at them from behind and before they could jump apart from their cozy position he put his arms around both of them, squishing them even more together, "ready to ditch Tweety Bird?"

"Just don't get him in trouble" Ellie mumbled edging away from his strong breath, "and how're you gonna get this passed Fury?"

"Already taken care of, now come on" Tony yanked both of them up and spanked them, making them both shout, jerking away.

"Tonight? Why not in the morning when we're all awake?" Ellie asked, rubbing her butt, making Bruce avert his eyes as his face heated up.

"They're not going to be sleeping, right?" he rebutted with a grin.

"Guess not" she shrugged, "but do you really think it's smart barging in on them, they don't always play fair"

"_I_ don't play fair" he grabbed an apple and took a bite, chomping happily, "you have friends that… per say, like you more than them that aren't on this love boat?"

Scratching her chin, scrunching up her face before crossing herself, "doesn't mean I like him as much"

"Call him up"

"Hand me the phone" she wiggled her fingers in emphasis.

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKB REAKBREAKBREAK~

"You've grown soooo much!" Wade giggled cradling Ellie's body to his suit covered one, "oh, what have they done to your hair, bunny? Want me to dice them up for you? Into nice pretty hearts?" his hand started to stray to her butt.

"BAD!" Ellie smacked him upside his covered head, "Bad Wilson, bad, bad, bad!"

"The mercenary?" Tony asked in disbelief, "how'd you meet _him_?"

"He's the only one faster than me" Ellie grumbled as she was hugged again, "we'd have…. Fun together, competitions, yadda yadda"

"Roughed it up in the bed, _like animals!_" he howled in laughter as he was tripped backwards, Ellie crossing her arms and stepping to Doctor Banner's side who was furiously wringing his hands. He rolled around like a child, his weapons clanking together, "_fucked like bunnies!_ Oh-oh, that's a good one- oh yeah, that's good too- no not _that_ one" he giggled.

"I've read him up, very interesting fellow" Tony remarked, looking up at the tall gates that were above them, "are the cams down?"

"Wilson took care of that before we arrived" Ellie stated, begrudgingly offering her hand to the downed mercenary, granting when he dragged her down with him. She elbowed him in the face, blurring as she jolted up with blinding speed only to be kicked down by a flash of black and red, revealing a Deadpool with his hands on his hips, jumping on his feet.

"Too slow!" he mocked, waving his finger at her before turning to the two men behind him, "now, down to business mi amigos, pilfering the village is what we aim for!" He marched forward, swaying his hips to a private tune.

"Are you sure he was a good idea?" Bruce edged, carefully helping Ellie up and blocking the pounding of his head and heart. He checked her bruise quickly, blushing when Tony pushed him through the gate. He snagged Ellie's arm to get her to walk by him, not thinking just wanted her close in case something went wrong.

"He's the best" Ellie murmured, scowling when Wade shot back a thumbs up at them, rounding up the drive way to a huge manor, most of the lights out. She started walking backwards after she got in front of Bruce, "if you guys don't wanna be here, you can leave, I'm sure Wilson would let me crash with him after this shenanigans is over with"

The Other Guy smashed at his walls, making him twitch on the outside, "It's fine, I'd feel better with you with us than with him"

"I'd feel better too" Ellie whispered, glancing back at the Merc to see him waiting at the doorstep impatiently, "what's your plan of action, Wilson?"

"_**Blow it all up**_" he cackled in a dark voice, his hand half covering his mouth. When none of them joined in, he slouched down, "no fun _at all_. Geez, sarcasm – we're just gonna go through the front door, _duh_"

"Actually, me and you are" Tony stepped in, "talk to baldy, maybe blow some things up in his face, some yelling, kick here and there, whay do yeah say, 'Spots?"

"Ooh, I like, like very much" Wade clapped, "I'm with you, Richy Rich – will we really be able to blow stuff up?"

"Yeah" Tony smirked and turned to the remaining two members, "you two, find something else to do why the big boys talk to the adults"

"Uh, hello" Ellie snorted, ignoring Wilson shaking his head, "_I'm _the reason we're here, this is what I'm mad about to begin with, people leaving me out of things"

"I'm recording everything, sweet cheeks" Tony assured her, patting his pocket that held his phone, "and _that's _why you need to dilly dally somewhere else, emotionally compromised woman… well compromise meetings, so you'll still know everything but not cause as much ruckus, good? Good"

Ellie's shoulders slouched as she agreed, looking up at Bruce to nod her head to the side of the mansion, "there's a back entrance, I can get it open and we can eat some decent food why we wait for these lunatics to finish"

"I resent that!" Wilson shouted as Tony hurriedly snagged his arm and drug him through the door.

"Are they okay… together?" Bruce asked as they strolled across the ground, like they weren't trespassing on private property. He deduced 'Wilson' disabled all the trip wires and cams inside the grounds, seeing as Ellie wasn't worried about getting caught.

"Probably not, but they'll get something done, Wade has the mouth and actions to back him up and Tony… is Tony" Ellie pointed out, looking about as memories pushed at her at the familiar sights, "you know, the last time I was here I almost was fried to death by one of the teachers"

"Run into him?" Bruce chuckled.

"I was just giving my… opinion on his love interest to a friend and he happened to walk out at the wrong point of the conversation" Ellie said, letting out air in a short whistle, "he didn't even let me explain, it's not like I was battering her name, I was talking to the person who had a thing for her too, for crying out loud"

"I wouldn't call that a smart move" Bruce edged as they rounded the corner to the side of the building that held a small garden that was blooming with flowers. It was a nice change of scenery to the helicarriers steel walls, it must have been hard for Ellie to transit from such an open setting to a confined one, Bruce thought.

"I was asked my honest opinion on a matter" she said pursing her lips, "and it happened to involve her, so came the bashing from professor visor"

Bruce hesitated a bit, thinking before swallowing his pride, "can I have your honest opinion?"

"Sure, 'bout what?" Ellie agreed, her hands pulling at each other. They had reached the next corner, finally making it to the back of the building where it faced the forest, a huge fountain creating soft sounds of rippling water. When Bruce didn't respond after seconds passed without a word, Ellie stopped and looked to him, eyebrows flying upward at his suddenly red face, "hey, uh, if it's about my boobs, it's okay, they are a bit-"

"NO!" Bruce quieted himself quickly, trying to maintain his quickly escalading heart beat with trouble, "no, not… that.. but…"

Suddenly worried, Ellie reached for him mentally, faltering when she felt anxiety and embarrassment, and was about to open her mouth to ask him _something _when she suddenly found it cover by soft, warm lips. Blinking rapidly she slowed her surroundings down to a slow frame, Bruce's eyes screwed shut and his hands lightly grasping her shoulders. His face seemed to redden even further if that was possible, his pulse visible behind his jaw and perspiration collected at his temples. She felt the motion of his lips moving against hers, a question.

She did like him. He was attractive, intelligent and sympathetic – reclusive being another trait that she was comfortable with, seeing as she spent most of her life thriving on it. And all of this inter-alter universe crap be damned, she liked him _a lot_.

So throwing out any concerns that would come in the future, she grasped his shirt and tugged him forward, tilting her head to the side. Seconds passed as the kiss progressed but before it could get any more heated Bruce slid his face down to rest it against her neck to calm himself, the Hulk just beneath the surface.

"Well…" Ellie cleared her throat from all its grogginess, face pink, "glad we were both honest"

Bruce breathlessly laughed, his hands sliding down to shackle her wrists, massaging them when he felt the thin muscle underneath twitching. His own muscles jerked in response to her heat, the Other Guy yearning to experience his desire. "That was you being honest?" he asked, wanting to make sure his advance wasn't returned out of pity or uncertainty.

"Oh, completely honest" she murmured brushing the top of his head with her lips, breathing in his natural scent, without the aroma of cologne to fog it over.

"Remy like, Remy like very much, may Remy join?"

"_Mother of God_" Ellie shouted, jumping back with a start with her fists raising in a defensive position while Bruce flushed a dangerous tint of mint green, his heart pounding and bones aching. Looking around, she caught sight of Gambit crouching on the edge of the roof, grinning goofily with his red eyes shining with mischief. "Damn Cajun" she fumed under her breath relaxing her stance enough to cross her arms over her chest.

"Just enjoyin' the show, _Cher_" he replied nonchalantly, dunking his head lightly into his trench coat, "Remy was looking for Logan, found _this_ instead, more interestin' than grumpy ole' Lo', so Remy decided to stay"

Fighting her heated face she faced Bruce, immediately dropping her arms and stepped closer to his person when she saw him hunched over with his hands to his temples. A hand dropping over his gave her the skin contact she needed to reach the Hulk, letting him understand through her that everything was alright, under control.

"Does he explode? Remy is sorry" Gambit pursed his lips at the aspect of the man being a ticking time bomb of a mutant, not wanting to face the blame if he did actually explode and ruin the property.

Ellie spared him a glance, mumbling, "something like that" before rubbing Bruce's back, waiting till he straightened himself out and collected himself before looking back up, "what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be gambling others' money away, or something?"

"You don't know?" Gambit asked as his eyes flashed a deep scarlet and he leaped down to their level, his staff strapped securely on his back, "Remy's been called in to gather resources"

"Only you?" she edged, stepping closer to Bruce's side, Gambit frowning at the action.

"Well, no" he replied tilting his head, eyebrows raising, "people been poppin' up, Remy go lookin' for 'em"

There was a long silence, Ellie staring at the former thief blankly before her eyes flashed, and her small mouth gave a loud shout.

"_ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"_

~BREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAKBRE AKBREAKBREAKBREAKBREAK~

"I don't want _anything_ to do with them, you hear me, you red-eyed chimp?!" Ellie screamed pushing herself uselessly against her living restraints, throwing her body against the rough digits and the occasional blind punch, but nothing budged, "all you bunch are sour grapes, selfish pricks only out for your own cause- when were you gonna let me know I wasn't the only one that popped into existence – _HU!?_"

What she didn't know was that Gambit _was_ getting his due punishment and Hulk wasn't just holding her back – he was sitting on the Cajun, just right so his face, which was quickly turning purple, was visible under the green mass of muscle.

"Ellie, o-kay" Hulk rumbled, bringing his clasped hands closer to his face to peek into the cracks his fingers created only to jerk back, much to the displeasure of the man under him, to avoid a stray limb being thrown about. Hulk huffed, glaring at the man as he sputtered out nonsense, before putting his hands near his ear to try to hear what his friend was yelling about.

"-Dyin', Remy's dyin', off, ge' off!" Gambit struggled, not liking the way his muscles were burning and the numbing of his limbs. He didn't want to go to using his mutation, once again wanting to dodge that bullet since he got a mouthful plenty of times for it, but it was getting harder as the giant beast ignored him – dear Lord, if he _farted_, might as well light a spark to finish off the show!

Hulk only glanced up when a door opened and a group started walking forward, but once he saw Tony he went back to listening to Ellie ramble and spit out sentences, interested in her angry temper and a part of him was expecting her to go green and smash something- or some_one_. He ignored the loud remarks that the others made, most presumably seeing the head that now matched the man's head gear, and grunted in warning when someone started to step too close to him, not sparing them his attention.

Tony barked out laughter, holding his sides at the sight they walked out onto, his sour and pissed off mood long gone as he looked on to the oblivious green giant. Logan next to him didn't seem amused at all, Tony didn't appreciate the stick up his ass but elbowed him anyway, getting the man even more uptight and displeasured by him.

"Get that-that green hulk off of our team member!" Scott snapped, regaining his composure and walking forward as if to do it himself but faltered by a noise coming out of the giants throat at his advance, as well as a telepathic voice telling him to stand down. "Professor, he's being crushed!"

Xavier tilted his head in acknowledgement, eyes tightening when he was met with pure emotion and no thoughts from the beast, the stronger emotions building a wall that prevented him to communicate properly, "I presume this one is your company, Mr. Stark?"

"He's my BFF!" Tony sang sauntering forward without any care for his health as he closed in on the green hulk, grinning when he was spared a look and allowed to continue forward, "right, Big Guy?"

Hulk looked back down at him, his cupped hands still near his ear, frowning as his fragmented thought process took in his words, quickly getting frustrated and just replied the one thing he knew Tony to be to him and Bruce, "Tony friend" and went back to listening to Ellie as she slowly worked herself away in energy, her blurring speed slowing down to stuttering flashes of movement.

"See?" Tony smirked, looking down at the man currently being used as a human bench, 'tsking' under his breath, "what'd you do? Knock him over the head, take away his glasses? Never mess with the glasses"

"Ge' him off o' Remy!" He shouted, his eyes flashing red when Hulk growled down at him.

"Professor?" Storm asked, edgy at the unpredictability of the situation and their unwelcomed guests.

"Mr. Stark, please" Xavier sighed, already strained from the argument that started his too small office an hour ago.

"Hey, he probably got what was coming at him," Tony defended his friend, crossing his arms to stare down at the parked man, then up at Logan who stood there stiffly and looking ready to kill _him_, "what, you wanna add something, Mr. Dark and Moody?"

Burning a glare into the man that he was glad he never ran into on the carrier, he called to the whole subject of the matter, "Ellie!" almost snarling as Tony flung his arms in the air in exasperation. The other reactions though, they went stiff and the tension rose, if it was even possible from it being already rung so tight since the beginning.

Hulk turned to the new man, vaguely getting a recognition from his alter ego but not personally familiar with him enough to hand his friend to him. He looked at Tony, who rolled his eyes and pointed to Remy, making an up motion. Grumbling he obliged, toeing the man to move out of his proximity, eyeing him as he stumbled to the larger group around them, gasping before falling on the ground again.

"Come on, Big Guy" Tony urged, gesturing to his closed hands, making the muscled giant groan in protest, not wanting to release his distraught friend yet, bringing his hands closer to his shoulder protectively. "Uh-uh, you heard the fella', Grumpy's orders" when he was just stared at blankly, he continued, "she's safe – _I_ won't let anything happen to her, _you _won't, so on you go!"

With one last grunt, he lowered his hands and opened them, shifting anxiously when he saw her disheveled appearance and trembling limbs, sitting down, huffing to regain breath – that didn't stop her gaze from zeroing in on the group of mutants, mutants that betrayed her, their own kind. With one motion, she tried pulling herself over to them to show them just how understanding she was now, but couldn't find any energy left from her outburst. Shifting her attention, realizing she couldn't act on impulse anymore, he eyes found Pete and her lip trembled as new emotions emerged.

Too much. Too many thoughts. Accusations. Emotions. So many outcomes. Reactions. They all battered at her at the sight of the people she put her friendship and security in since the very beginning, finding out it was all just in their agenda, another to-do-list that they checked off and threw away. Moving on to the next victim.

"Ellie" her weary brown eyes turned to Xavier, making her huddle back against the green palm holding her up. He gazed passionately up at her, his face sincere, "you must understand, we _always_ had your best intentions in hand when we found you, we care about you, you've made your home with us, confided in us and we do not take that lightly – we stick together. None of those exercises or tests were meant to cover up secrets, we were _researching_, to better lives, the little boy's life, _your _life. To get you home, to get everyone that is as lost as you home"

"You _lied_ to me" she spat, twitching nervously, eyes skittish and looking to Tony for comfort, "research entails the full consent of a patient – to what they are told they are putting themselves through for – I gave you all the truth I had, my very essence while I only received empty promises and lies from you. That is not how research is done _with the best intentions_"

"_Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions"_ passed through her mind of her conversation with Bruce earlier that day. That's what he told her, that she should listen to what they had to say, that maybe they were just as confused as she was.

Sucking up her pride and initial hurt, she asked, "did you know what was going on when you… sent for me"

The Professor's face relaxed a bit, on edge since he never could get a reading on her, her mind just as complex as his own, "no, I assure you, we were going on what little we had – that being a little boy's mutation waking up, we had no clue just what its potential was, or even how it worked and what its functions were, he just awakened and _knew_ where you were, obsessed over it until we found you, then fell back asleep… we were blind to what we were looking for, we couldn't have even tried to explain if we didn't know how to"

"Were…" she breathed, grateful for the green digit placed in front of her to hug to her body, "were you even thinking of getting me back home in the beginning?"

"No" he admitted as truthfully and softly as possible, "we weren't aware of the full repercussions of his mutation until after Hank got your blood results… all we knew is that you were a product of it, that was all the lead we had at the point"

"Were you ever going to tell me?" her eyes stung, burned as she gazed at the man she once trusted with keeping her safe, "you've apparently got a lead" she sniffed, looking at the recovering Cajun before continuing, "and I've heard nothing from you"

"This is our problem, we have to resolve this, you must understand" he sighed, looking at his students that flanked his side, "if you'd had stayed, you would be as up to date, but we do not want _SHIELD_ apart of this, we feared getting in contact with any information to you, they'd try to put this to their best interests, not ours"

"A boy's life is at stake, Ellie" Petre urged, eyes wide, "they'd have taken our chance away to help him, we needed this to stay on our side of the field and come up with a solution before involving them"

"Well, we're involved" Tony stated blandly, cocking an eyebrow at the bunch, Hulk next to him grumbling and pushing Ellie closer to his chest as she continued to shake, "looks pretty bad when we find the information from a computer then from you, lies pile up pretty quickly around here"

"Wanna go a few rounds, Suit?" Logan growled, his bio-knives itching to come free and bite into flesh.

"Have you been talking to the Cap' lately?" Tony rebutted smoothly, flashing his pearly whites at the feral mutant, "of course, all of you wear ungodly suites and are of none of my concern, wouldn't be a surprise if you two played war heroes together"

Logan was about to carry out his threat when the Professor shook his head at him.

"Like a good soldier, too, I see" Tony remarked, snorting, "anything more before we rag you out to the pirate?"

"We'd appreciate it if you'd give us more time to investigate this" Xavier urged, leaning forward in his chair, "a month and we'll gather as much and then your organization may proceed, but until then, please, keep this between us, the boy-"

"You don't think they'd help?" Tony mumbled, then shook his head, "right, yeah, they don't have much compassion do they? Just saving the world and its inhabitants out of their non-existent hearts, right?"

"They'd see it as one life that can be sacrificed for the better cause" Scott snapped, "and you damn well know it"

"Ellie was one life" Tony stated.

"You think they took her in for her best interests?" Scott asked bitterly, "you think they're just going to let her go once they've solved this problem? That they aren't playing her as another bargaining chip, a playing card?"

"Oh, and you had her best interests at hand" Tony snapped, "practice what you preach, one-eyed wonder"

"Mr. Stark, please" Xavier pushed, glancing at Scott as warning, "a month is all we ask, then you do whatever you seem fit"

"You're so busy taking it into your hands that you're missing a part of the equation" Tony informed him, "just because SHIELD doesn't know what you know, doesn't mean they haven't progressed as far as you" he spared the shaken speedster a meaningful look, "Daddy's not gonna be happy, and when _this_ Daddy ain't happy, better be sleeping with one eye open, your alarms aren't even going to slow him down"

"The energy spikes…" Hank breathed as his eyes widened as he looked at Ellie and remembered her file, her family,"how did you open it?"

"You scratch my back I'll scratch yours" Tony suggested, "until then, we are not sharing squat"

"Ho-ome?" Hulk spoke up making everyone jolt at his deep voice coming out of nowhere, he was looking down at Tony, feeling that it was time to go somewhere safe.

"Yeah, Big Guy, we're going home" Tony assured him, patting his elbow, looking in his hands, his voice softening, "sound good to you, champ?"

Bringing herself out of her thoughts, Ellie tried to pull herself together, wiping at her face uselessly. With a hiccup she nodded, not looking at her previous friends as her gaze sought Tony's, her hands grasping desperately at the warm hand around her.

"I'm sure I have Tea for you and Brucie somewhere, maybe a movie" Tony offered, already picking his phone up, ignoring their audience, "I'll have Pep' get something together for a movie night, sure she'd enjoy the company"

Not wanting to bring attention to herself, she whispered to the billionaire, "where's Wade?"

"Spots? Oh, he got dismantled, he'll be fine, I'm sure" Tony waved it off, "his fault, really, now hopefully that car's still in the front… ah, what the hell, was wanting to use that new helicopter anyway, why not?" he started mumbling to himself.

Knowing what this meant, she looked up to a green face, reluctantly admitting to him, "we're gonna need Bruce back, Buddy" when his face immediately fell she hastily amended her words, "not now, just when Tony's ride comes"

"Ellie o-kay" he repeated, perking up and rubbing his finger down her side.

"I-I will be" she got out, turning more towards him so she wouldn't have to look at the tense faces behind her.

* * *

**Maybe shorten this later when I get some sleep. Supposed to be shorter with less.. fluff, but when the mood calls for it, the writing lengthens. Questions, question away.**


End file.
